Feb 25 2011: >>>Mr Internet
First off, what archaic principles are shaping society? I just want some clarification of the specific principals your talking about and why they are bad. Also, which of these ideas run counter to reason?
Feb 24 2011: Mind S, I do seek meaning, purpose etc. through reason and logic and I don't disagree with you that ever evolving alternatives should and could be achieved. However, some general stories have developed throughout many cultures, "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell, and I don't think they should be discounted.
Also, mentioning reason and logic, read some David Hume or Karl Popper, you will quickly see that logic and reasoning is not as cut and dry as you may expect.
Tim, I think religions do offer a great sense of community. It is a shame that many of the greatest minds today don't have a weekly get together much like a religion would. I guess in a way TED is trying to achieve just that, getting highly intelligent people together to better the world.
Finally, there is something to be said about the tradition involved in many religions, allowing you to connect back to something people have felt throughout history, linking us all together.
Feb 23 2011: >>Considering the damage that occurs when religious metaphors are interpreted as facts
What about the damage that can and has occured through the advancement of science( e.g. atom bomb, chemical, biological weapons)? Should we "object to this kind of thinking"? Or should we accept the fact that along with the good there is a capacity of bad or misuse.
>>Is it inappropriate for us to object to this kind of thinking?
Specifically, what kind of thinking ,using allegorical stories in general or treating allegorical stories as facts? Can you have one without the other?
Feb 22 2011: As a scientist, I have to start off by saying that a discussion of this topic/idea is going to be particularly biased without the input of the religious community, which I believe to be lacking on this site. Civil debate with peers well versed in religious studies would offer precious insight into this discussion. I am not one of them, but am passionate about the subject and recommend anyone to read some of Joseph Campbell’s works.
“God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.”
Joseph Campbell
This quote really sums up why religion or the notion of god will not and should not outlive its usefulness. I do not wish to argue that many of the dogmatic belief systems are archaic, in many ways they cannot related to the current age. This, however, does not diminish their meaning’s or purpose which are allegorical in nature.
A religion is there to help guide one through life, so that they may be happy and serve their finite time on earth meaningfully. It gives people faith, not just blind faith, but faith that things can and will get better in times of darkness or destruction.
Science and technology will never be able to answer all questions. I will leave you with this final quote.
“Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed. The living images become only remote facts of a distant time or sky. Furthermore, it is never difficult to demonstrate that as science and history, mythology is absurd. When a civilization begins to reinterpret its mythology in this way, the life goes out of it, temples become museums, and the link between the two perspectives becomes dissolved.”
"The Hero With a Thousand Faces", Joseph Campbell
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A reply on Conversation: Has religion outlived it's usefulness?
First off, what archaic principles are shaping society? I just want some clarification of the specific principals your talking about and why they are bad. Also, which of these ideas run counter to reason?
A reply on Conversation: Has religion outlived it's usefulness?
Also, mentioning reason and logic, read some David Hume or Karl Popper, you will quickly see that logic and reasoning is not as cut and dry as you may expect.
Tim, I think religions do offer a great sense of community. It is a shame that many of the greatest minds today don't have a weekly get together much like a religion would. I guess in a way TED is trying to achieve just that, getting highly intelligent people together to better the world.
Finally, there is something to be said about the tradition involved in many religions, allowing you to connect back to something people have felt throughout history, linking us all together.
A reply on Conversation: Has religion outlived it's usefulness?
What about the damage that can and has occured through the advancement of science( e.g. atom bomb, chemical, biological weapons)? Should we "object to this kind of thinking"? Or should we accept the fact that along with the good there is a capacity of bad or misuse.
>>Is it inappropriate for us to object to this kind of thinking?
Specifically, what kind of thinking ,using allegorical stories in general or treating allegorical stories as facts? Can you have one without the other?
A comment on Conversation: Has religion outlived it's usefulness?
“God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.”
Joseph Campbell
This quote really sums up why religion or the notion of god will not and should not outlive its usefulness. I do not wish to argue that many of the dogmatic belief systems are archaic, in many ways they cannot related to the current age. This, however, does not diminish their meaning’s or purpose which are allegorical in nature.
A religion is there to help guide one through life, so that they may be happy and serve their finite time on earth meaningfully. It gives people faith, not just blind faith, but faith that things can and will get better in times of darkness or destruction.
Science and technology will never be able to answer all questions. I will leave you with this final quote.
“Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed. The living images become only remote facts of a distant time or sky. Furthermore, it is never difficult to demonstrate that as science and history, mythology is absurd. When a civilization begins to reinterpret its mythology in this way, the life goes out of it, temples become museums, and the link between the two perspectives becomes dissolved.”
"The Hero With a Thousand Faces", Joseph Campbell
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