Since Paleolithic times each tribe of which there has been countless thousands have invented its own creation myths. So the labyrinth of myth runs deep in humankind.
God, a tribe of Gods; supernatural beings talking to shaman and prophets; spirits; the sun;ghosts of our forebears; hybrids of sundry animals; serpents and images appearing above a burning bush to a 14 year old girl in Lourdes - everything that could be conjectured by dreams and mans imagination.
From the desert rooted patriarchal religions of Christianity to Islam to Judaism a Divine and powerful patriarchal figure had been conjectured and the believers are spoken to by this patriarchthrough the means of sacred scripture. One could argue that these patches are no more that literary figures (The Bible, The Koran,The Torah)
Why is this belief system for human kind, who many would argue, are no more than myths in place.
The creation myth has been the essential factor that held 'us' or the 'tribe' together and has offered man a comfort; an explanation to the cycle life and death and it is in this way that myth evolves and in time are set in stone.
So how does mankind move on? Can empiricism (science) and belief in the supernatural be reconciled. No
As neuro science and brain scanning advance we find that Darwin was correct in asserting the the brain is a citadel. For example most of the activities of the brain are not perceived by our conscious mind, so breaching the walls of the brain i.e what exactly is consciousness etc is still a long way away from being conquered by science. Because the brain was not designed for introspection ti was designed for survival and reproduction. Philosophy although fun and jouissance (joy)for many, is no more than a kind of bricollage (DIY). Consensus is not achieved by philosophy it results in a kind
of intellectual diaspora.
So what is the way ahead. For many it is evolutionary biology, ecology, neuro science; social psychology,'Curiositys' voyage to Mars... etc...etc...
Source E.O. Wilson The Social Conquest of Earth
God, a tribe of Gods; supernatural beings talking to shaman and prophets; spirits; the sun;ghosts of our forebears; hybrids of sundry animals; serpents and images appearing above a burning bush to a 14 year old girl in Lourdes - everything that could be conjectured by dreams and mans imagination.
From the desert rooted patriarchal religions of Christianity to Islam to Judaism a Divine and powerful patriarchal figure had been conjectured and the believers are spoken to by this patriarchthrough the means of sacred scripture. One could argue that these patches are no more that literary figures (The Bible, The Koran,The Torah)
Why is this belief system for human kind, who many would argue, are no more than myths in place.
The creation myth has been the essential factor that held 'us' or the 'tribe' together and has offered man a comfort; an explanation to the cycle life and death and it is in this way that myth evolves and in time are set in stone.
So how does mankind move on? Can empiricism (science) and belief in the supernatural be reconciled. No
As neuro science and brain scanning advance we find that Darwin was correct in asserting the the brain is a citadel. For example most of the activities of the brain are not perceived by our conscious mind, so breaching the walls of the brain i.e what exactly is consciousness etc is still a long way away from being conquered by science. Because the brain was not designed for introspection ti was designed for survival and reproduction. Philosophy although fun and jouissance (joy)for many, is no more than a kind of bricollage (DIY). Consensus is not achieved by philosophy it results in a kind
of intellectual diaspora.
So what is the way ahead. For many it is evolutionary biology, ecology, neuro science; social psychology,'Curiositys' voyage to Mars... etc...etc...
Source E.O. Wilson The Social Conquest of Earth
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