Re: virus: religion

Eric Boyd (6ceb3@qlink.queensu.ca)
Wed, 15 Apr 1998 00:37:36 -0400


Hi,

Robin Faichney <robin@faichney.demon.co.uk>
> The trouble with this is, if humans are just mindless hosts of
> religious memes, then they're just mindless hosts of any and
> every other meme too.

I'm not actually sure this is valid. Does the fact that humans sometimes
play mindless games indicate that *everything* we do is a mindless game?

I for one would argue that one *cannot* be a mindless host of "reason" --
the very nature of the beast gives one a mind! (although, of course, one
could argue that, albeit pointlessly, that reason itself is just another
virus...)

But like I said earlier... the best argument I can think of to establish
the fact that humans have freewill is the arguement from creativity. I
simply don't think that a robot (e.g. a being without freewill) -- no
matter how well programmed -- could display the creativity necessary to,
say, invent calculus.

My point, then, is that *even* *if* some people are just mindless carriers
of a religion meme-complex, that doesn't stop them from actively hosting
other, more valuable, things -- which they consciously control.

ERiC