Western Institutions, Alien Societies

Posted by freedomforall 8 years, 7 months ago to Culture
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Excerpt:
While some might look at human reason as a given, it has been one of the most difficult endeavors of humanity. It took the West over 2,000 years for its slow and unsure infusion of the concepts of objective reason, critical thinking, and self-awareness. Germinating gradually through a plethora of traditions, religious practices, customs, beliefs, authorities, lies, self-deceptions, inherent reptilian impulses, and socially entrenched interests, all interconnected in an entangled mess, the discovery of reason had to be a slow dance of adjustments, readjustments, and ever-slow improvements, often with serious retracements. Then, about 700 years ago, the sprouts were starting to emerge, culturally and economically. The West galloped ahead of the Rest of the world.

The respect for nonpartisan, objective reason led to individualism, to the concepts of liberty, rule of law, legal equality, disinterested differentiation between right and wrong, virtues and sins, social compassion, etc.
SOURCE URL: http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/1542


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  • Posted by Mamaemma 8 years, 7 months ago
    Very interesting. It is easy to assume that, given the chance, societies will live by rational principles. But that's a pipe dream. It doesn't even happen here.
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 8 years, 7 months ago
    Excellent article...observes my point that our ascension into Consciousness has been excruciatingly slow, much slower that Julian Jaynes might have thought...we started this journey only some 3000 years ago but in earnest, 2000 years ago...I'm thinking of Aristotle here...
    We used to be taught to reason before the progressive intrusions of being taught how to learn but not how to think...thanks to the left's favorite...woodie wilson.

    I don't get the reference to "reptilians" though. Reptiles are 0 on a scale of 1 to 10 for life on earth in terms of most anything and mankind is not related in anyway to reptiles nor monkeys....current observations are that we were a completely different and separate species from the beginning.
    Note: this will not be coming from your local nor global lamestream anytime soon.
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