Continuing the Constitution

1.30. The fundamental orientation of a human's internal being consists of three aspects, faith, wonder and fear. When faith serves as the mediating force between wonder and fear, the human is in a divine state. When wonder serves as the mediating force between faith and fear, the human is in a philosophical state. When fear serves as the mediating force between wonder and faith, the human is in a despairing state. Humans oscillate among these states.

1.31. The state in which a human's internal being is primarily oriented cannot necessarily be discerned by a human's activities while alive on earth. A professor of evolutionary biology who may confidently claim to have thrown off all superstition may well live in an internal state primarily oriented by fear. The evolutionary biologist may secretly despair that his or her scientific studies, while feeding in some manner his or her wonder at creation, has starved his or her essential human need of faith. Fear becomes the reconciling force, leading to despair. On the other hand, a devout nun's wonder at the cosmos in which she is a part may mediate between her fear of what lies beyond her current existence and faith in an eternal soul. Thus, the nun may be more of a philosopher than the evolutionary biologist.