Buddhist Theists vs Buddhist Atheists

Buddhist Theists vs Buddhist Atheists Jul 29, 2018 3:15:06 GMT

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Post by Eλευθερί on Jul 29, 2018 3:15:06 GMT

Jul 29, 2018 2:58:49 GMT goz said:

I sum religion up as endemic heirarchical ritualised 'tribalism'.

That's not necessarily different than what I said. But you can better understand the why of the tribalism if you remember that human beings are social animals and you frame the analysis in those terms.

Horses are highly social herd animals that prefer to live in a group.

There also is a linear dominance hierarchy in any herd.
They will establish a "pecking order" for the purpose of determining which herd member directs the behavior of others, eats and drinks first, and so on. This behavior pattern also applies to their interrelationship with humans. A horse that respects the human as a "herd member" who is higher in the social order will behave in a more appropriate manner towards all humans than a horse that has been allowed to engage in dominant behavior over humans.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_behavior

We're not that different from horses or dogs or gorillas. Most of us want to be led around & will comfortably follow the rules set by the leader of the pack. And the leader and his homies take down anyone who tries to subvert his position of authority.

We're just more sophisticated in that instead of relying solely on fangs, claws, and horns to maintain social hierarchies, we also use forms of mind-control like religion.