luni, 31 ianuarie 2022

The God trade


In about 500 B.C., Xenophanes (pre-Socratic philosopher), asserted that animals, like us, would also draw gods in their own image, if they had the ability to do so. 

This was a criticism directed at the Greeks who were acceptant of the anthropomorphised images of their deities. And this has been our privileged species' bias for many millennia. 

2.500 years after Xenophanes, the deities are starting to lose their grip on humanity (thanks, Nietzsche!), but secularism has pushed more and more people on their own little ideological islands, where they rarely trade in ideas with anyone else; but they are quick to go to war fluttering their own unique island flag.


A new belief is being pushed onto us which says that no amount of diversity is too much diversity, that there is no normality, that our identities are limitless and that our billions of cells function according to the laws of quantum mechanics. We are being told that morality itself is a construct, that all values are debatable, that we've been doing it wrong for many, many millennia. 

The internet and its storytelling is expanding at a rate which is faster than any of our forefathers could have ever imagined. For instance, YouTube alone uploads 100 hours of video every minute!! 


Does this endless dilution of content, stories and heroes coincide with a richer set of values or will it lead us astray, following a personalized maze that will ultimately end up in a mental asylum, were everyone is raving about their own little philosophies and special illusions? Has it already happened with the perfection of the algorithms which recommend content for our little bubbles? 


One could argue that a limitless diversity of choice is helping all disenfranchised individuals find an identity thus spurring them on in their pursuit of happiness. 

But there are also those who see the social fabric coming apart at its seams. The super-educated youth is encouraged to roam free, away from the herd; But isn't this also an unprecedented opportunity for all sorts of predators? 


For an inquisitive mind, all universal truths should be challenged and put under scrutiny. Many of the very intelligent people, in pursuit of their epistemological Zenith will use compelling arguments against the unifying ideas of religion, even against the idea of God. They will say that believing this story has only brought misery and intellectual stagnation for "the many". Are they truthful? Humanitarians?  I have the feeling that not many wise people will agree.. 

Niciun comentariu: