...out of the machine

Before I go off on any tangents, I should probably elaborate on my suitably pretentious blog title†. It's not exactly cryptic -- I assume many people are familiar with the term deus ex machina. However, my vague logic behind the title could use some explanation. Being a blog that is first and foremost concerned with atheism--a strange idea in itself, that one can be devoted to asserting the non-existence of something--I felt it was appropriate for my title to have the absence of God.


For those unaware, the phrase deus ex machina literally translates to "God from [or 'out of'] the machine." It was coined to describe the mechanism in theater that lowered a god-like figure onto the stage, who would subsequently resolve all problems for the story's protagonists. As a result, the phrase evolved into a general literary device wherein a story's conflict is resolved at the last minute and a little too conveniently. No matter how the phrase is used, though, its roots remain in its literal interpretation: all problems are fixed by a god.


What I particularly like about the phrase is its allegorical implications. One would think that a play should always be able to come upon a resolution naturally and seamlessly. However, plays are about people, and people (in the real world) do not always have convenient answers to their problems. Indeed, the world is full of questions, conflicts, and misfortune. A deus ex machina is not a departure from reality (however unrealistic it may seem), because it's an accurate reflection of human conflict's inability to solve itself. The use of a god in dramatic literature is a great way of showing just how incapable people can be in resolving their conflict; it shows that a supernatural power would be the only way to have a happy ending at times. God, despite being the answer, is not the point. The point is to illustrate people's dependency on an outside power/force.


Another interesting point is the notion of a "machine." While the alleged god did most definitely come down from a mechanical pulley in the phrase's origin, I'm much more partial to a societal machine. That is, the proverbial mechanism of creation and sustenance we give to our ideas. Richard Dawkins coined the term meme in reference to the acceptance of ideas through cultural reiteration. Say something enough times and with enough assertion, and eventually people will have no choice but to listen. In this way, God (along with all human concepts) is essentially born of a machine... a process of repetition and reaffirmation from the collective. Just like in theater, wherein a deity is lowered onto the stage out of necessity for the story's resolution, a deity is manufactured in our hearts out of perceived necessity to our own resolutions. I know I sound awfully condemning here, and I don't mean to be. If anything, I revel at how accurate the phrase is beyond the stage.


So if the phrase in its entirety is appealing, why take out the deus -- the god? I'm afraid my reasoning behind that is less than eloquent. Simply put, taking out the god seems fitting for an exploration of God's non-existence. Moreover, I wanted to emphasize the "machine" more than what comes out of it. After all, it's easier to examine something tangible, measurable, and real. Finally, and I admit this is a silly reason, the phrase in its entirety is overused and cliché. Every overzealous liberal arts major has used the phrase in a term paper, and I'm already bordering on pseudo-intellectual by using Latin in the first place. Therefore, Ex Machina it is. Besides, doesn't it just sound cool?




† A foreword on pretension: In trying to write cleverly on matters of importance, I'm nearly certain that I'll sound pretentious at points. I apologize if anything I write comes across as snobbery, elitism, or intellectual masturbation. I assure you that is not my intent, possibly excluding the latter. I do not claim to know more than I do, and I revel in my ignorance. However, I am qualified to post intellectual fodder and I encourage you to do the same via comments.