Beyond Hume: Other Worldly Philosophical Enquiries Naturalism Versus Supernaturalism

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The book is intended to show that it is possible to treat the subject of an imaginary afterlife philosophically rather than theologically. Self-evidence of the value of consciousness as consciousness of values constitutes the corner- stone of a discussion that starts with the question as to whether the self of a person still alive can know that he or she would know that they have died after dying actually or as a matter of fact. The discussion about the possibility of premortal knowledge about postmortal existence invokes an argument from 'oddness' to establish that postmortal existence can be 'surmised though not exactly 'known', on the basis of our conviction that our consciousness, as consciousness of values, cannot, oddly enough, simply disappear into nothingness merely on the occasion of the termination of physical life supporting it here on earth. Cartesian treatment of truth and Kantian treatment of morality each on separate grounds, invokes divine intervention that suggests in cach case the involvement of the Supernatural in the Natural. Selves are subjective; but pious and enlightened selves may be assumed, on the ground of their higher level of moral-cum-cultural consciousness, to be eligible for an after- life in the supposed other world where they may continue, as souls, to progress in moral objectivity and personal immortality.

The boundary of Naturalism, drawn by David Hume (1711- 1776) in terms of what empirical evidence is available on the basis of a consistent application of the principle of sequential causality, does certainly need not to be redrawn but, to be cautiously, overstepped in order that enquiry may be made, following Descartes, as to how God could help conscientious seekers of truth in the matter of their being assured about the correct application of self-evidence as the criterion of Truth, and, following Kant, as to how God could help the Moral Law maintain its dignity and help the moral order remain intact by enabling the virtuous to enjoy happiness and compelling the vicious to suffer pain at least in life after death, if not also in life before death. Other modern philosophers like Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke and Berkeley - who admit God as fundamental to reality, do not betray any awareness of anything inherently 'odd' about any aspect of the human situation as experienced in Nature, and, therefore, do not also require God to do anything about that 'oddness' such, i.e. redeeming the said situation from that 'oddness' such, that the question of divine intervention as an involvement of the Supernatural in the Natural may arise.

The way Descartes and Kant dealt with 'oddness' makes it clear that they made God act on behalf of the Supernatural in the interest of the Natural that needed to be redeemed from 'oddness'. Descartes first drew the truth-seekers' attention to the 'oddness' that lay inherently in the knowledge situation - an oddness about there being no way to be absolutely certain about some truth - whether a priori or empirical, in spite of all the recommended Cartesian methods of 'rightly conducting the understanding' being followed with utmost care, for the possibility of deception or even of universal self-deception could not be ruled out for all the human effort made to disprove it and thus to avert it. To redeem the knowledge situation from this oddness, divine intervention was invoked, which, however, was available to dispel all doubt about possible deception from the minds of truth-seekers following the Cartesian methods with utmost care, and which generated the assurance that when God was there with all His perfection and veracity, there was absolutely no reason to be scared of deception or of universal self-deception, and there was every reason to be assured that the methodical 'search for truth in the sciences' was bound to have all the credibility it deserved. A perfect and veracious God faith in whom was the ultimate safeguard against the unconscious deception feared by the truth-seekers, was supposed to generate the much-needed assurance - not by following the known or even unknown laws of Nature framed in accordance with the fundamental principle of sequential causality, but by adopting what supernatural means lay at His disposal.