I am familiar with "emanation" (a) from esoteric concepts of "the ray of creation" which emanates from "the Absolute", and (b) watered down versions (via google) which purport to seperate "creation" from a "primary source" from which secondary process/substances/entities manifest.

Type (b) is basically "teleology" (top down-edness) with the avoidance of "purpose". In fact, systems theory leaves as an open question whether top down hierarchies of nested "organizational structures" are open or closed at "the top" . It seems clear that "theists" go for closure, i.e. they seek ontological a priori principles, whereas "atheists" are content with the implications of Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, that all systems require at least one axiom which cannot be "verified", whether it be in top down or bottom up explanations.

It is my contention (stated on other threads) that part of the price we pay for our cognitive abilities is the desire for closure. Simplistically, we abhor the void encapsulated by Shakespeare's famous description of life as " a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing". Almost anything would seem better than that, and that's what we get, almost anything !



Last edited by eccles; 10/11/09 04:44 PM.