Heisenberg and the Christian: Observe.

THERE’S A CONCEPT OR TWO in science, specifically physics, that suggest that you can’t know everything there is to know about an object at any point in time. And in trying to find out what there is to know, you change the thing you are studying. Back to my baptized daughter . . .

In the first post the question was asked: what’s changed? The first thing to realize is that the witnesses to the baptism are now aware that the event has indeed taken place, and one of those has a specially privileged position: the recipient herself. I think it’s clear that this awareness has a behavior- and consciousness-altering effect. Is there any evidence of it?

Aside from the paperwork that goes with the baptism, there is other evidence of a change, perhaps in the form of jewelry. In some cultures, a baptized infant might never be without such an outward sign, the “badge” referred to earlier. But the awareness of the observer is a more interesting phenomenon.

It occurred to me yesterday that a 7-plus-month old child makes a more enjoyable “bapitzee” than a six-week-old (for instance). And so it was in this case. Healthy babes at this age are able to do something that’s rather Christian: the smile, they laugh, they eat hearty. It’s obvious that’s more than simply Christian, it’s just good. But we’re talking about the observed “phenomenon”, remember. The ritual of baptism seems intended to create a tangible emotional investment that benefits the witnesses as well as the recipient, and takes the form of a sort of pair of rose-colored glasses which never come off, and through which we begin to observe a life.

Are you alert to signs of altruism in an extremely young child? How do you spot it? And a more difficult question: When does a very young child begin to demand a reward for such altruism?

(next)