Curt Doolittle

Category: Religion, Myth, and Theology

  • Religion Is Explicable By Scientific Analysis.

    Sorry. Just Is. No Magic Necessary. No Superstition Necessary. No Lies Necessary. 1) myth=history/heroes, 2) ritual=plays/stoicism 3) festivals=sports/holidays/feasts

    That the ancients used primitive concepts in all walks of life where we no longer do is simply an artifact of the process of accumulating particular rather than analogistic knowledge. What makes people feel spiritual is literally the combination of: 0) a narrative that provides common decidability on tie breakers that support our group evolutionary strategy 1) what we think of meditation or prayer in which we are free to be honest with ourselves, 2) the chant/fire/group prayer where we feel the pack response in safety, 3) the play/church/school/temple where we feel the pack response in narrative, 4) the feast/festival/sport where we feel the pack response in ‘celebration’. 5) war/competition where we draw upon all of the above. Spirituality (elation,safety) is produced by the pack response. Spiritual euporia (in all it’s names) is produced by the intellectual equivalent of abandonment of all ‘concerns’. But these ‘effects’ are achievable by multiple means, both shinto/stoic/buddhist personal ritual, group prayer or storytelling ritual, team sport and festival ritual, and martial and funeral ritual.

  • Religion Is Explicable By Scientific Analysis.

    Sorry. Just Is. No Magic Necessary. No Superstition Necessary. No Lies Necessary. 1) myth=history/heroes, 2) ritual=plays/stoicism 3) festivals=sports/holidays/feasts

    That the ancients used primitive concepts in all walks of life where we no longer do is simply an artifact of the process of accumulating particular rather than analogistic knowledge. What makes people feel spiritual is literally the combination of: 0) a narrative that provides common decidability on tie breakers that support our group evolutionary strategy 1) what we think of meditation or prayer in which we are free to be honest with ourselves, 2) the chant/fire/group prayer where we feel the pack response in safety, 3) the play/church/school/temple where we feel the pack response in narrative, 4) the feast/festival/sport where we feel the pack response in ‘celebration’. 5) war/competition where we draw upon all of the above. Spirituality (elation,safety) is produced by the pack response. Spiritual euporia (in all it’s names) is produced by the intellectual equivalent of abandonment of all ‘concerns’. But these ‘effects’ are achievable by multiple means, both shinto/stoic/buddhist personal ritual, group prayer or storytelling ritual, team sport and festival ritual, and martial and funeral ritual.

  • RELIGION IS EXPLICABLE BY SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS ALSO. SORRY. JUST IS. NO MAGIC NEC

    RELIGION IS EXPLICABLE BY SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS ALSO. SORRY. JUST IS. NO MAGIC NECESSARY. NO SUPERSTITION NECESSARY. NO LIES NECESSARY.

    1) myth=history/heroes,

    2) ritual=plays/stoicism

    3) festivals=sports/holidays/feasts

    That the ancients used primitive concepts in all walks of life where we no longer do is simply an artifact of the process of accumulating particular rather than analogistic knowledge.

    What makes people feel spiritual is literally the combination of:

    0) a narrative that provides common decidability on tie breakers that support our group evolutionary strategy

    1) what we think of meditation or prayer in which we are free to be honest with ourselves,

    2) the chant/fire/group prayer where we feel the pack response in safety,

    3) the play/church/school/temple where we feel the pack response in narrative,

    4) the feast/festival/sport where we feel the pack response in ‘celebration’.

    5) war/competition where we draw upon all of the above.

    Spirituality (elation,safety) is produced by the pack response.

    Spiritual euporia (in all it’s names) is produced by the intellectual equivalent of abandonment of all ‘concerns’.

    But these ‘effects’ are achievable by multiple means, both shinto/stoic/buddhist personal ritual, group prayer or storytelling ritual, team sport and festival ritual, and martial and funeral ritual.

    Source date (UTC): 2016-11-16 10:09:00 UTC

  • There is a difference between a cost of entry into a religion and the content of

    There is a difference between a cost of entry into a religion and the content of the falsehoods in the religion. Many cults do not ask us to pay physical costs, but to deny reality as the cost of entry.

    In fact, is that not the entire premise of the monotheistic religions? The price of entry is faith in falsehood? A cost of non-correspondence with reality? The signal of trustworthiness to others is the likewise denial? The shared lie?

    There exist amazing cults (stoicism), questionable cults (Buddhism), ignorance creating cults (Christianity and Islam), immorality creating cults (Judaism), and even worse cults that teach even worse lies.

    There is no need for lies. History, myth, man, and nature are beauty enough and wonder enough without the need for lies.

    Source date (UTC): 2016-11-15 17:26:00 UTC

  • Why Is Religion – Meaning Myth And Ritual – Necessary?

    —“Why are mythology and ritual necessary?”—Doug Decidability, opportunity costs and transaction costs.

    —“??????”—Doug We coordinate our actions a little bit by clear deliberate choices. But mostly we cooperate by many thousands of tie-breakers that we default to loose theories of the ‘good’: narratives. In other words, religions provide means by which, in those many thousands of choices, where no choice is preferable to us, to prefer the choice that contributes to the advancement of the commons. Otherwise like Bouridan’s Ass we must find some method of choosing. This insight is profoundly important. Think of religions as a wishing well into which we toss the spare change of choice. But these choices reflect a group evolutionary strategy. And these strategies are not equal. THE MANY SMALL DEFEAT THE FEW GRAND.

  • Why Is Religion – Meaning Myth And Ritual – Necessary?

    —“Why are mythology and ritual necessary?”—Doug Decidability, opportunity costs and transaction costs.

    —“??????”—Doug We coordinate our actions a little bit by clear deliberate choices. But mostly we cooperate by many thousands of tie-breakers that we default to loose theories of the ‘good’: narratives. In other words, religions provide means by which, in those many thousands of choices, where no choice is preferable to us, to prefer the choice that contributes to the advancement of the commons. Otherwise like Bouridan’s Ass we must find some method of choosing. This insight is profoundly important. Think of religions as a wishing well into which we toss the spare change of choice. But these choices reflect a group evolutionary strategy. And these strategies are not equal. THE MANY SMALL DEFEAT THE FEW GRAND.

  • Religion = Infantilization, Truth=Transcendence

    ***MYTH, RITUAL, NATURAL LAW: MATURATIONVSRELIGION, RITUAL, SUPERNATURAL LAW: INFANTILIZATION
    ***THE PURPOSE OF MYTH AND RITUAL IS THE COORDINATION OF DECIDABILITY***
    ***THE PURPOSE OF RELIGION IS INFANTILIZATION***

  • Religion = Infantilization, Truth=Transcendence

    ***MYTH, RITUAL, NATURAL LAW: MATURATIONVSRELIGION, RITUAL, SUPERNATURAL LAW: INFANTILIZATION
    ***THE PURPOSE OF MYTH AND RITUAL IS THE COORDINATION OF DECIDABILITY***
    ***THE PURPOSE OF RELIGION IS INFANTILIZATION***

  • DECONFLATING RELIGION —“Are you using religion and monotheism synonymously now

    DECONFLATING RELIGION

    —“Are you using religion and monotheism synonymously now?”—William Butchman

    I”m trying to de-conflate:

    1) Narrative: historical, mythical, supernatural

    2) Metaphysical Judgments: (in many forms)

    3) Group Evolutionary Strategy: (in many forms)

    4) Rules: (in many forms)

    5) Ritual: (mindfulness in its forms)

    6) Festival:(in their many forms)

    In other words, conflation and truth from conflation and falsehood.

    Source date (UTC): 2016-11-15 14:06:00 UTC

  • Religion is a NECESSARY institution for the provision of decidability by narrati

    Religion is a NECESSARY institution for the provision of decidability by narrative, which is the loosest theoretical structure we currently know how to construct.

    The question is whether we claim religious narratives are true(history), are myths(parables), or are supernatural(falsehoods).

    History and Myths are enough without resorting to lies.

    Source date (UTC): 2016-11-15 10:40:00 UTC