The supernatural (and I use the term very loosely) seems to hold some interest for the vast majority of us - if such a thing can be judged by the New York Times Best Sellers list. But the supernatural is still outside of the mainstream: Science and art are two sides of the same coin - both are searching for a measure of truth, each using very different methods. Yet for many people neither science nor art have the ability to answer some very fundamental questions; instead, some people turn to faith and religion. Each of these three, science, art and religion, have the same goals in mind, and I would guess that nearly everyone subscribes to at least one of them. The supernatural however, has very little place in any of science, art or religion.
But I think for many people - even if they claim not to be superstitious - the supernatural represents a potential connection with other human beings. It's a bridge between our everyday lives and the unknown; a communion between the living and the dead, or between us and our ancestors. In some way, the supernatural offers connections and reassurances that science, art and religion never will - the reassurance that even as an individual, you're part of something larger, something greater than yourself. The supernatural can also provide insight into something that science, art and religion can never know - like the reasons our ultimate ancestors created all those cave paintings.
Personally, I tend more towards skepticism. I like to have the proof in front of me before I'm willing to admit to belief. However, I do enjoy a good story, and it is fun to consider all the crazy possibilities that spur from investigations into apparently unexplainable phenomenon. If nothing else, it's all great material for writing and for game design.
I don't really agree with capital-A art's inclusion with Science and Religion/Faith in the way that you've presented it...I guess I'm also not so sure I see art and science as flip sides of the same coin to be honest. I also see the supernatural as having a huge place in both art and religion, it has only been more or less neatly separated from science, which is in some ways ironic because while it's embraced in art and faith it seeks validation through science in our present outlook especially, which leads to those nefarious border and fringe sciences that are so often looked down upon. I'm not feeling my best right now, so maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I feel some of your basic assumptions are a bit off - presumptuous arse that I am!
ReplyDeleteHmm... We're probably going to have to agree to disagree, because I'm going to hold on to my statement that art and science are similar.
ReplyDelete'Supernatural' probably isn't the best word for what I'm trying to describe, but I can't think of a better. It is true that a lot of my own bias came through in this post. Perhaps a better way of saying it is that art has no need for the supernatural because art is a product of the artist and her worldview. That doesn't mean that an individual artist might not have any superstitions, only that when creating art the outcome is more likely a product of how the artist perceives the world and how she wishes to communicate that.
As for religion and faith - I think there are lots of parts of the supernatural that is not accepted by either. Again, a lot of that comes from my personal bias and my Catholic upbringing, but I would be willing to bet it's true across many religions.