"Рэймонд Смаллиан. Две философские сценки (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

somewhat disturbing. You describe yourself essentially as a process. This
puts you in such an impersonal light, and so many people have a need for a
personal God.
GOD: So because they need a personal God, it follows that I am one?
MORTAL: Of course not. But to be acceptable to a mortal a religion must
satisfy his needs.
GOD: I realize that. But the so-called "personality" of a being is
really more in the eyes of the beholder than in the being itself. The
controversies which have raged, about whether I am a personal or an
impersonal being are rather silly because neither side is right or wrong.
From one point of view, I am personal, from another, I am not. It is the
same with a human being. A creature from another planet may look at him
purely impersonally as a mere collection of atomic particles behaving
according to strictly prescribed physical laws. He may have no more feeling
for the personality of a human than the average human has for an ant. Yet an
ant has just as much individual personality as a human to beings like myself
who really know the ant. To look at something impersonally is no more
correct or incorrect than to look at it personally, but in general, the
better you get to know something, the more personal it becomes. To
illustrate my point, do you think of me as a personal or impersonal being?
MORTAL: Well, I'm talking to you, am I not?
GOD: Exactly! From that point of view, your attitude toward me might be
described as a personal one. And yet, from another point of view --no less
valid--I can also be looked at impersonally.
MORTAL: But if you are really such an abstract thing as a process, I
don't see what sense it can make my talking to a mere "process."
GOD: I love the way you say "mere." You might just as well say that you
are living in a "mere universe." Also, why must everything one does make
sense? Does it make sense to talk to a tree?
MORTAL: Of course not!
GOD: And yet, many children and primitives do just that.
MORTAL: But I am neither a child nor a primitive.
GOD: I realize that, unfortunately.
MORTAL: Why unfortunately?
GOD: Because many children and primitives have a primal intuition which
the likes of you have lost. Frankly, I think it would do you a lot of good
to talk to a tree once in a while, even more good than talking to me! But we
seem always to be getting sidetracked! For the last time, I would like us to
try to come to an understanding about why I gave you free will.
MORTAL: I have been thinking about this all the while.
GOD: You mean you haven't been paying attention to our conversation?
MORTAL: Of course I have. But all the while, on another level, I have
been thinking about it.
GOD: And have you come to any conclusion?
MORTAL: Well, you say the reason is not to test our worthiness. And you
disclaimed the reason that we need to feel that we must merit things in
order to enjoy them. And you claim to be a utilitarian. Most significant of
all, you appeared so delighted when I came to the sudden realization that it
is not sinning in itself which is bad but only the suffering which it
causes.