On First Principles

I wanted to present an additional idea to my previous discourse on First Principles and faith.

A First Principle is a philosophical term for a "basic, foundational proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption." An example would be the syllogism: Men are different from women. Kylie Minogue is a woman, and I am a man. Conclusion: I am not Kylie Minogue. The First Principle would be the starting point that we accept to be true, that men are different from women. Everything else logically follows from that stated truth.

I was having an extended discussion with my friend Willy about First Principles as applied to personal faith. At a certain point, he remarked, we all have a point where we decide to say, "Fuck it! I accept this as true." For a lot of people you run into, finding the First Principle might be as easy as the following hypothetical conversation:

Why do you call yourself a Christian? Because I believe in God. Why do you believe in God? Because the Bible says He's real and good. Why do you believe the Bible?
Because it's true. Why is it true? Because it's the Bible.

For that person, the assumed truth of the Bible is the philosophical starting place of faith. For a more curious or inquisitive type, it might go further:

Why do you believe the Bible is true? Because I've done a lot of research, and archeological investigation really corroborates a lot of the historical personages and events recorded in the Bible. Why do you take those as reliable? Well, these archeologists have described their methods and research, and they sound pretty legitimate, which I've decided is convincing enough for me.

The point being that everyone, after a series of "why" questions, has a point at which they base their faith on a First Principle. Does the fact that everyone, even Christians, might espouse a different First Principle for their faith or beliefs undermine the legitimacy of faith? On the contrary, that's the nature of faith. At a certain point, we decide to believe.

My friend Michael also made an incredibly insightful observation about the First Principle for Christians. He said that one day, he had begun, offhand, to question things by asking "why" in iterative succession. Why do I exist? To glorify and magnify God. Why is it necessary or right to do that? Because God is awesome and good and His glorification is the right thing to do, reflecting that magnitude of light and goodness. Why?

He found that at the very root of all these series of questionings lay the answer, as if from God: I Am.

He tried it several times, with a number of different starting points about life and the universe, and every time, after he asked why and why and why, Michael found himself at the basic First Principle that He Is.

Why is the sky blue? Because of the way the ozone and other chemicals emanate electromagnetic energy in specific wavelengths interpreted in bands by the cones in our eyes? Why do they do that? Because God designed them that way. What is the purpose and evidence behind that? Because He created all things for His glory. Why? Because He Did. Because, Michael, I Am.

Maybe if we ask why honestly, believer or nonbeliever, we'd find ourselves all in the same place. Maybe if we believe in Jesus, then all our First Principles are the same after all. Maybe God did more than tell us His name, and that's enough to anchor every question important enough to ask.