From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Thu Sep 13 2001 - 19:24:21 MDT
From: "Anders Sandberg" <asa@nada.kth.se>
> They never had to deal with it, since they were following another
> psychological program. If you are willing to die, then the diffusion
> of responsibility problem doesn't matter.
Right, so it isn't inhibition that should concern us, but rather that other
"psychological program."
<<Have you ever wondered why the Arab world is characterized by poverty,
internal conflict and hatred for the West? The Arab psycho-epistemology is
characterized by the primacy of consciousness, and Arab values stress
collectivism, traditionalism and fatalism. Dominating Arab thinking is the
religion of Islam, which stresses blind obedience to Allah, rather than
rational thought, as a guide to action. The result is the inability to live
successfully on earth, and undying resentment of those who are. Islam came to
govern the Arab world in the 10th century, when the leading Arab thinkers
explicitly repudiated the philosophy of Aristotle in favor of the mysticism of
religion. Thanks in part to the Arabs, however, the works of Aristotle reached
Europe through Spain and helped foster the Renaissance in the West. Thus, the
West progressed toward a rational, secular society--while the Arab world
stagnated and changed little over the next millennium.>>
--Edwin A. Locke
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values
We won't move into a better future until we debunk religiosity, the most
regressive force now operating in society.
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