A lot of vices start off as virtues, or have some role in preserving social cohesion. But when taken too far they become dogma, fear, desire to be on the winning team, yearning for social approval
One more question; is it more harmful to society for an individual to think they are an instrument of divine will, or to be told another individual is an instrument of divine will, especially if that individual is in a position of power?
There is a thin line between 'boosting morale' around the edicts of a 'common god' and using this as an excuse for unacceptable violence, claiming human action is God-in-action.
Q1. How to navigate the tension between the dogmatist and the skeptic? What does the balance look like?
What the dogmatist and the skeptic have in common, is a closed mind and certainty. Like a locked seesaw, stuck in hot air, going nowhere - without the use of force.
In-between, is an open mind and un-certainty. Like a well-balanced seesaw, working together with open minds, to enjoy the ride.
Q2: "What is it about fear that undermines both humane behavior and rational thinking?" Fear puts the BodyMind into Fight-Flight-Freeze-Faun mode. At which point people are much less able to think clearly, think critrically - and much more easy to manipulate. Covid was a clear demonstration of this. As a global-test of the ability to think and act rationally 'under pressure', most people failed, believed the hype, trusted politicians who they would otherwise never trust, and took an untested vaxx of dubious origin - the consequences of which in terms of 'vaccine-damage' are mind-boggling, for anyone who cares to revisit it 2-3 years on.
"Can the influence of fear be mitigated on an individual or societal level, and what strategies would help to maintain sanity and compassion in fearful times?" Until the issue of "structural evil" is faced head-on -- mainly the form of enslaving people via a money-as-debt banking system -- the answer is 'no'.
I remember reading Russell's autobiography before I knew who he was (if that is not an oxymoron, I was only 17). Fabulous read. Then I went on to read many of his essays on a "perhaps unduly multifarious" range of topics -- Why I am Not a Christian, On Being Modern-Minded, The Superior Virtue of the Oppressed etc. etc. etc. Which were always instructive, iconoclastic (in a good way) and incisively entertaining. BTW, I was in no way ever capable of understanding his deeper (mathematically-based) philosophical work. But I'm writing now to see if you professional philosophers can vouch for the veracity of a supposedly infamous Russell retort, that I heard from a philosophy-minded friend many years ago (in Alaska in the mid 80s). Irritated by a letter that the historian Will Durant had sent out broadly to contemporaneous luminaries (including Russell), which pompously asked about the intellectual/educational/cultural means his enlightened counterparts deployed to keep their composure and make moral headway in such a depraved world at such a depraved time (it might have been around WWII, I'm not sure), Russell reportedly (according to my friend) responded something along the lines of..."My happiness has nothing to do with culture or learning, but exclusively with the fact that I defecate twice a day with unfailing regularity." It was those last two words that I've relished, with a degree of envy, ever since. Let me know if you find it; in spite of some (characteristically unsystematic) research, I have not. Keep em coming.
A lot of vices start off as virtues, or have some role in preserving social cohesion. But when taken too far they become dogma, fear, desire to be on the winning team, yearning for social approval
Indeed, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, especially if those intentions are believed to be "God's Will".
One more question; is it more harmful to society for an individual to think they are an instrument of divine will, or to be told another individual is an instrument of divine will, especially if that individual is in a position of power?
The error is the belief in divine will.
EVERYONE HAS DIVINE WILL; IT IS DEEP WITHIN ALL OF US. IT IS YOUR HIGHER SELF. YOUR LOWER SELF IS THE EGO, WHICH IS FULL OF FEAR.
IF ONE IS TRULY ON A SPIRITUAL PATH, AND IS EVOLVING, ONE GETS TO KNOW ABOUT OUR 2 SELVES: THE HIGHER AND THE LOWER.
THROUGH MEDITATION, ONE CAN ACCESS ONE'S HIGHER POWER. SOME ACTUALLY KNOW AND COME TO TRUST IN THIS DIVINE GIFT. ☮️❤️🧚🏻
100%
There is a thin line between 'boosting morale' around the edicts of a 'common god' and using this as an excuse for unacceptable violence, claiming human action is God-in-action.
Ah, would quote #5 be placed on huge bill boards in certain nations we need not list as they are so evident in their convictions.
Q1. How to navigate the tension between the dogmatist and the skeptic? What does the balance look like?
What the dogmatist and the skeptic have in common, is a closed mind and certainty. Like a locked seesaw, stuck in hot air, going nowhere - without the use of force.
In-between, is an open mind and un-certainty. Like a well-balanced seesaw, working together with open minds, to enjoy the ride.
Q2: "What is it about fear that undermines both humane behavior and rational thinking?" Fear puts the BodyMind into Fight-Flight-Freeze-Faun mode. At which point people are much less able to think clearly, think critrically - and much more easy to manipulate. Covid was a clear demonstration of this. As a global-test of the ability to think and act rationally 'under pressure', most people failed, believed the hype, trusted politicians who they would otherwise never trust, and took an untested vaxx of dubious origin - the consequences of which in terms of 'vaccine-damage' are mind-boggling, for anyone who cares to revisit it 2-3 years on.
"Can the influence of fear be mitigated on an individual or societal level, and what strategies would help to maintain sanity and compassion in fearful times?" Until the issue of "structural evil" is faced head-on -- mainly the form of enslaving people via a money-as-debt banking system -- the answer is 'no'.
The need for certainty does not appear to be universal. English speakers litter their language with uncertainty; German speakers, not so much.
I remember reading Russell's autobiography before I knew who he was (if that is not an oxymoron, I was only 17). Fabulous read. Then I went on to read many of his essays on a "perhaps unduly multifarious" range of topics -- Why I am Not a Christian, On Being Modern-Minded, The Superior Virtue of the Oppressed etc. etc. etc. Which were always instructive, iconoclastic (in a good way) and incisively entertaining. BTW, I was in no way ever capable of understanding his deeper (mathematically-based) philosophical work. But I'm writing now to see if you professional philosophers can vouch for the veracity of a supposedly infamous Russell retort, that I heard from a philosophy-minded friend many years ago (in Alaska in the mid 80s). Irritated by a letter that the historian Will Durant had sent out broadly to contemporaneous luminaries (including Russell), which pompously asked about the intellectual/educational/cultural means his enlightened counterparts deployed to keep their composure and make moral headway in such a depraved world at such a depraved time (it might have been around WWII, I'm not sure), Russell reportedly (according to my friend) responded something along the lines of..."My happiness has nothing to do with culture or learning, but exclusively with the fact that I defecate twice a day with unfailing regularity." It was those last two words that I've relished, with a degree of envy, ever since. Let me know if you find it; in spite of some (characteristically unsystematic) research, I have not. Keep em coming.
Me too. He’s my guy.