*I* said:
> > I see the categories above as a specific example of a general
> > division of knowledge -- procedural and declarative. Skills
> > and Facts, if you will. Or Ritual and Dogma. I think you've
> > missed a vital fact if you think that religion(s) use only
> > declarative knowledge.
David R. said:
> What does the distinction between Darwinian and Platonistic
> idea systems have to do with ritual vs dogma? Both systems
> can have rituals.
The core of Darwin's idea has to do with process -- it's about change over
time. The realm of Platonic Ideals, on the other hand, is all about (give
it room, folks) Universal Truth; e.g. a static statement. You may say that
the ritual serves to reinforce the dogma in some sense, but I still feel
that there is a profound difference.
It has often been noted that women tend to be more "religious"[1] than men;
and equally that they have tended historically to be less involved in
science and math. I suspect that these two are related.
Both science and math tend to be procedural in nature -- they are about
problem solving, about how to do x, y and z. Religions, at least in the
west in the last 400 years, have been profoundly declaritive -- which is
why religion has such an emphasis on (capital T) "Truth" and the creeds
(dogma). I find it very interesting to not the contrast between the older
Catholic masses and the new protestant spin-offs.
> I'd say for a cult, we're pretty open to merging (our view with
> other people's view) with outsiders.
Seriously? Do you know how little the web page's content has changed in
the few years it's been up? So far as I know, the only person on virus who
has changed to beleiving in a god (of sorts) is Brodie...
> So, why do you say we're a cult, Eric?
I believe it's the name, more than any other factor -- virus. The religion
has been designed to infect you...
ERiC