“prejudices and prescriptions and presumptions are the instruments which the wisdom of the species employs to safeguard man against his own passions and appetites.”
I suppose this can also explain why new cults, from Born-again Christians to the Scientologists and extreme environmentalists, seem so much more harmful than the boring old Church of England and the like. How fast do we think these counter-beliefs can arise?
I don’t know; but we should factor in historical context when examining the record. I mentioned that religions of subjugated people are kinder; on the flip side, religions that have political power are often harmful, even if old. You can’t look at Catholicism in the middle ages as being just a memetic system. Politics produces results that memetic theory wouldn’t predict.
This sounds like Burke for the 21st Century,
“prejudices and prescriptions and presumptions are the instruments which the wisdom of the species employs to safeguard man against his own passions and appetites.”
I suppose this can also explain why new cults, from Born-again Christians to the Scientologists and extreme environmentalists, seem so much more harmful than the boring old Church of England and the like. How fast do we think these counter-beliefs can arise?
I don’t know; but we should factor in historical context when examining the record. I mentioned that religions of subjugated people are kinder; on the flip side, religions that have political power are often harmful, even if old. You can’t look at Catholicism in the middle ages as being just a memetic system. Politics produces results that memetic theory wouldn’t predict.