Philip Pullman interview

[archerships]

linley turned me on to Philip Pullman's superb His Dark Materials trilogy. The Third Way, a magazine dedicated to "Seeing the modern world through Christian eyes" has a fascinating interview with him.

http://www.thirdway.org.uk/past/showpage.asp?page=3949

Can I elucidate my own position as far as atheism is concerned? I don’t know whether I’m an atheist or an agnostic. I’m both, depending on where the standpoint is.

The totality of what I know is no more than the tiniest pinprick of light in an enormous encircling darkness of all the things I don’t know – which includes the number of atoms in the Atlantic Ocean, the thoughts going through the mind of my next-door neighbour at this moment and what is happening two miles above the surface of the planet Mars. In this illimitable darkness there may be God and I don’t know, because I don’t know.

But if we look at this pinprick of light and come closer to it, like a camera zooming in, so that it gradually expands until here we are, sitting in this room, surrounded by all the things we do know – such as what the time is and how to drive to London and all the other things that we know, what we’ve read about history and what we can find out about science – nowhere in this knowledge that’s available to me do I see the slightest evidence for God.

So, within this tiny circle of light I’m a convinced atheist; but when I step back I can see that the totality of what I know is very small compared to the totality of what I don’t know. So, that’s my position.

Comments

[9thmoon.livejournal.com]

That's admirably credible.

[nanowyatt.livejournal.com]

Is the text after the link in your voice or in Pullman's?

Re:

[crasch.livejournal.com]

Pullman's voice. It's from the interview.

[nanowyatt.livejournal.com]

Normally I'd just check the interview, but it seemed kinda long...

[candid.livejournal.com]

I found the interview interesting and worthwhile, even though I've never heard of the author or his books.

[crasch.livejournal.com]

Sorry. Should've put it in quotes.

a subtle cognitive knife

[faustin.livejournal.com]

Philip Pullman is one of my favorite authors, because of His Dark Materials Trilogy.

They beat everything I had to read when I was a kid.

They are superb and I recommend them to everyone. I started my little sister reading his books when she was 8, and I still pick up used copies and send them to 11-12 year old girls that I've made friends with.

Regarding his atheism... I get tired of hearing this weak position. There are items just outside his little circle which would greatly illuminate a huge class of existents which are befuddling him, namely, claims or propositions made by humans. If you understand how belief works, you understand why humans come up with their various beliefs, including all the Gods and gremlins. With a positive explanation for where the beliefs come from and how, in terrific detail... the metaphysical view outside of the stuff humans create is big and fascinating but not so peopled with oddities.