Adam Blatner

Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner

Explaining Zordak’s Existence

Originally posted on December 19, 2010

I have a friend here at Sun City named John who sometimes reads my blog. Not infrequently he challenges me in a friendly  way to expand my philosophy. He tends to be more materialist and I think tends to give science more weight than I think it deserves, but I agree with his requirement for a certain degree of rational coordination. It "grounds" the thinking. Today, John responded to my recent blogs about Zordak:

JS: Are you able to ask Zordak if ‘he’ would explain ‘his’ own existence?
   AB: What an amazing, astounding, provocative question! Evocative! Can I even "explain" my own existence? One part says, "We don’t explain our existence! A squirrel needs no explanation, nor a tree! What kind of question is that?! Existence is its own explanation."

AB’s second answer: God is trying to experience everything possible and see how it evolves further, from a piece of music to a cloud to a new kind of star with a slightly different chemical composition to each human or non-human individual. But that would be Aristotle’s "formal" cause.

Third answer. Let’s look at explanation in terms of of Aristotle’s 4 causes: from Wikipedia: Aristotle held that there were four kinds of causes:

W: 1. A thing’s material cause is the material of which it consists. (For a table, that might be wood; for a statue, that might be bronze or marble.)
   AB For Zordak, he is made of non-material, with just enough material "skin" to seem to appear and be what humans call "real," since we require that for it to be taken seriously. Were Zordak to be merely voice, that would seem delusional, and as for being essentially a "thought," even more evanescent—or considered merely a product of Adam’s imagination. But he’s more… though I can’t describe that more in terms of what we know (in our limited way) to be parts of actual existence. On the other hand, his existence is a challenge for us to transcend our habitual limited world-view about what constitutes reality.

2, Wiki: A thing’s formal cause is its form, i.e. the arrangement of that matter.
   AB: since aristotle we recognize that matter is arranged on many levels, systems, going down to the cellular, molecular, atomic, and even sub-atomic—which remains quite speculative. So, Zordak says only that he is "made of" the matter-equivalent that is no less complex, only with different kinds of components that cannot easily be described because there are no equivalents in the English or any other language, nor human-brain-think-able concepts even.

3. Wiki: A thing’s efficient or moving cause is "the primary source of the change or rest."  An efficient cause of x can be present even if x is never actually produced and so should not be confused with a sufficient cause. (Aristotle argues that, for a table, this would be the art of table-making, which is the principle guiding its creation.
   AB: as above, the energetic flows operate differently in trans-dimensional whatever. One can’t exactly call it "space," but then humans don’t have names for the whatever.

4 Wiki: A thing’s final cause is its aim or purpose. (For a seed, it might be an adult plant.
For a sailboat, it might be sailing. For a ball at the top of a ramp, it might be coming
to rest at the bottom.)
     AB: This is the “teleological” approach, generally avoided by science. Anyway, here Zordak aligns with me! (And, though you may not think it, with explaining your existence, too!) We all serve Spirit, the movement of the cosmos towards a dynamic balancing of differentiation, integration, autopoesis, and increased complexification, or as I like to restate my life mission—which Zordak is helping me with, as are you, with your provocative questions—"Helping God be Born."

Another question by JS: Also, how is it that ‘he’ has chosen to communicate with you?
AB: Who else has the balance of imaginativeness and strong critical thinking ability, the breadth of knowledge about many different spheres of endeavor, ranging from history and cultural criticism to medicine and psychiatry, the artistic imaginativeness and inclusion of music and singing, and who also has you for a friend? So I am a necessary part of this extension of the great plan to awaken Spirit in this sector of the Cosmos. And you as foil. Hee Hee.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Archives