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Quote by: LetThereBe  My question remains unanswered. Is pantheism, in the sense of worship or mystical awe of what is natural rational?
And further: can ANY non-utilitarian world view be rational? |
I think you may be framing the question slightly wrong. I do not think that a "sense of worship or mystical awe" is irrational. Neither is it, strictly speaking, rational. It is a completely appropriate emotional response. Whomever stands before a sunrise or the vastness of a star-strewn sky without any sense of wonder or awe is emotionally dead.
Such a response is totally natural, even if it is not strictly speaking, rational itself. Our emotions reflect our thoughts, so if the latter are rational, the former are not irrational, even if the response itself is visceral rather than strictly intellectual.
I think where the rationality or irrationality comes in is in your response to these feelings. If you take them as an inspiration to explore and to expand your understanding of the universe around you, that is a wholly rational reaction. If, on the other hand, you react by buying into a dogma peopled by a diety or dieties, controlled by ministers or priests insisting on explaining the will of and myriad rules laid down by your new imaginary friend, that is indeed irrational.