About nature and beyond¶
- nature¶
The part of reality that exists outside of human brains.
- natural¶
- supernatural¶
Something beyond nature.
[T]he very notion of supernatural–in opposition to the natural–is a Western invention. The “supernatural realm” only came into being as a thought form after we began to understand things in a natural, scientific way. Only when the concept of “the natural” emerged was it deemed necessary by some to speak of “the supernatural”: that which was imagined to be above or outside of nature. – Benson Saler (via Saturday, September 5, 2020).
Paul Broks (in Are coincidences real?) writes that he is “an unequivocal rationalist” and yet still wants “to see something strange and wonderful in life’s weird coincidences”. He gives a few beautiful examples of those coincidences, “some of which had a distinctly supernatural feel” and explains how and why he refuses to give in to the temptation of believing in a magical, supernatural world. “I am a naturalist, but coincidences give me a glimpse of what the supernaturalist sees, and my worldview is briefly challenged.” My comment: that’s why “supernatural” is a misleading word to use when speaking about God. God does not act against the laws of nature.