Is there a God or are there gods? This is a very difficult question for some. People never seem to question something bigger than the self until, in many cases, it is too late to form a final belief – life providing unexpected intrusions, a quickly occurring finality, for example. I feel, as a sensitive being, however, it is impossible not to question the “why.” Why for everything – for the bugs, the bees, the butterflies, for me, for that matter – just why? There is no empirical (1) answer to this existential question.

When I was young, there was a television commercial that promoted a type of polyethylene food covering. Befitting the optimism of the time, (1) it was the 1960s, after all, it was called Glad, manufactured by Union Carbide. The man who promoted it, the company spokesman, was, of course, the Man from Glad. (2) The wrap was such that it could lock scents in their respective containers, thereby allowing the refrigerator, for example, to remain odor free. (3)

I spoke with one of my former students the other day. She is now going to university to achieve a professional medical degree. She remarked, in passing, that her fellow students were very good at science and math but seemed to lack the capacity to think critically about philosophical issues. Her statement is actually borne out by numerous studies that suggest that a STEM degree (science, technology, engineering, and math) must be buttressed with critical thinking skills, some literature, and a dose of history. (1)