In Spinoza's Ethics, he writes, "Things could not have been produced by God in any way or in any order other than that in which they have been produced." (I, P33). One implication of this statement is a necessary movement towards increasing complexity.
As God unfolds, the permutations increase in what appears a Bach-like set of fugues. These permutations unfold in a specific order, despite the seeming randomness. Further, the unfolding is constructive for the specificity that follows.
As a person who is drawn to simplicity, I am at odds with God - not my best stance. The increased complexity that I see as a characteristic of evolution is not some mistake; the increased complexity allows for that occasional quantum leap that we see in physics, biology, invention and art.
While there is nothing wrong with my desire to rely on proven formulae, there is everything wrong with my occasional desire to go back to the "white picket fences of the 50s "- as it is based in my desire to "play God."
