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Art as the “proof-positive experience” of how objects and systems come into being

Jody Sjogren, one of our featured artists, cites the experience of human creativity as the one “proof-positive experience” that we have for explaining how something comes into being that did not previously exist. She writes:

“When artists, architects, and engineers design paintings, buildings, and machines, they begin by using their mental ability to visualize, in their mind’s eye, the object they want to create. This non-verbal process of visualizing something in the mind is the genesis of the creative effort. Add to this the will to create and the ability to organize and manipulate elements from the environment into some new object, and we have what is called ‘the creative process.’ It begins with a thought in the mind of the designer, which is followed by planning and actions to bring into being the intended object or invention.

“Following this line of reasoning, drawing is simply ‘putting marks around a thought.’ Similarly, architecture and engineering involve ‘putting materials around a thought.’ So how, then, do we describe the origin of life, with all of its complexity and diversity? Was it merely a thoughtless, random chemical process that did not have anything in mind?

“In my view, the experience of human creativity gives us a logical, ‘proof-positive experience’ for answering this question. When we consider the origin of life from our perspective as artists, architects, and engineers, it appears that an awfully big creative thought preceded the universe and the life within it (not to mention the will and ability to act on the thought). As with art, architecture, and engineering, a logical explanation suggests that ‘mind preceded matter’. This is the essence of intelligent design.