Some have opinions out understanding. Others out of confusion. Are they equal ?
We could start with another one : self actualising opinions arising from ethical ground, from innocence, ... vis a vis ... opinions formed of mortal fear or morbidity. On Feb 11, 8:44 pm, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > Religion addresses the human questions about life/death (and, by > extension, morality). The physical aspect is fairly obvious, although > perhaps not to the ancient Egyptians and countless other cultures, > including the current western tendency to embalm and use caskets and > dress the dead. > > And when it comes to ‘equality’, it is obvious that we are all equal > when it comes to having opinions. > > On Feb 11, 2:16 am, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I'm not looking for religion, but radical, practical changes in > > society, the way we live and could live - this, of course, sounds > > rather religious! <Arc > > > Religious sounding only with loose usage of the word. In that way to > > say one followed his new dietary regimen religiously nearly implies a > > prayer session with each dose of vitamins when actually all that is > > transpiring is healing the ills of the body. > > All being analogous to the ills of society, the radical, practical > > changes need not be dependent on tenets. We seem to have this dogging > > notion that all things must have a consensus drafted by a board of > > directors follow by decree and policing. We've lost the ability to > > condense it down to "Let's all have a nice day at the park" without > > drafting volumes of annotated texts defining the individual elements > > eg; what is let's, who is all, what is nice, what time does day end > > and are we stepping on the rights of those who do not want to have a > > nice day. > > This for me weakens the idea that religion is linked to pre-existing > > cognitive functions and more so leans towards the idea that it > > originated out of the need to adapt in order to reduce or prevent > > those who deviate from base level moralistic judgement. Simple social > > meliorism can be independent of moralistic decrees and dictates by > > governing bodies, it is a simple concept of getting along, working > > together without all the complexities that cause stagnation and > > quagmire. In principle it sounds easy but in the practical sense it > > tends to be utopian because people are not equal beyond their physical > > sense in any terms. Out of all that comes religion and government > > which can be a religion of itself when gilded with patriotic ideals > > and themes, for some government is a god. > > > On Feb 9, 10:50 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > This is an extract from a recent article. > > > The details surrounding the emergence and evolution of religion have > > > not been clearly established and remain a source of much debate among > > > scholars. Now, an article published by Cell Press in the journal > > > Trends in Cognitive Sciences on February 8 brings a new understanding > > > to this long-standing discussion by exploring the fascinating link > > > between morality and religion. > > > > There is no doubt that spiritual experiences and religion, which are > > > ubiquitous across cultures and time and associated exclusively with > > > humans, [actually something similar seems to have been observed in > > > chimps] are ultimately based in the brain. However, there are many > > > unanswered questions about how and why these behaviors originated and > > > how they may have been shaped during evolution. > > > > "Some scholars claim that religion evolved as an adaptation to solve > > > the problem of cooperation among genetically unrelated individuals, > > > while others propose that religion emerged as a by-product of pre- > > > existing cognitive capacities," explains study co-author Dr. Ilkka > > > Pyysiainen from the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Although > > > there is some support for both, these alternative proposals have been > > > difficult to investigate. > > > > Dr. Pyysiainen and co-author Dr. Marc Hauser, from the Departments of > > > Psychology and Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, used > > > a fresh perspective based in experimental moral psychology to review > > > these two competing theories. "We were interested in making use of > > > this perspective because religion is linked to morality in different > > > ways," says Dr. Hauser. "For some, there is no morality without > > > religion, while others see religion as merely one way of expressing > > > one's moral intuitions." > > > > Citing several studies in moral psychology, the authors highlight the > > > finding that despite differences in, or even an absence of, religious > > > backgrounds, individuals show no difference in moral judgments for > > > unfamiliar moral dilemmas. The research suggests that intuitive > > > judgments of right and wrong seem to operate independently of explicit > > > religious commitments. > > > > "This supports the theory that religion did not originally emerge as a > > > biological adaptation for cooperation, but evolved as a separate by- > > > product of pre-existing cognitive functions that evolved from non- > > > religious functions," says Dr. Pyysiainen. "However, although it > > > appears as if cooperation is made possible by mental mechanisms that > > > are not specific to religion, religion can play a role in facilitating > > > and stabilizing cooperation between groups." > > > > Perhaps this may help to explain the complex association between > > > morality and religion. "It seems that in many cultures religious > > > concepts and beliefs have become the standard way of conceptualizing > > > moral intuitions. Although, as we discuss in our paper, this link is > > > not a necessary one, many people have become so accustomed to using > > > it, that criticism targeted at religion is experienced as a > > > fundamental threat to our moral existence," concludes Dr. Hauser. > > > > I tend to see religion much as I would view political correctness - > > > that is, peevish, hostile, posturing pretense to be on the moral high > > > ground. Even Orn, who is a splendid example of the opposite most of > > > the time, lapses to this and so do I. I'm sure he won't take offence > > > and think I'm merely pointing to difficulties, not accusing him. Any > > > quest for origin is fraught with self-deception and the struggle to > > > sort wheat from chaff. > > > > I'm not looking for religion, but radical, practical changes in > > > society, the way we live and could live - this, of course, sounds > > > rather religious!- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
