Daniel Dennett interviewed on Explorations 3/3

[ninjatoothpaste]

I can only conclude that "Darwinism" refers to people who respect Darwin's ideas but don't understand them. There is also no such thing as "Evolutionism", though one can be a "Darwinist" (one who's enthusiastic about the life and works of Darwin) or an "Evolutionist" (one who believes in Darwin's idea, which has since been tweaked and developed and vastly supported by mountains of evidence).

[procommenter]

Perverse comments are disseminated by perverts. Normal people have no need to make them. Darwinism demands the deaths of the unfit. An ill man is weak so he must die. It is Darwin's will that must be honored! Death to the infirmed! Survival of the healthy!!!

[procommenter]

The religion of Darwinism travels light on, and runs rough shod over, intricacies, specifics, minutiae, fine points, details and other words conveying similar meanings.

[cloudincloudout]

@procommenter lol

[Neanderthalcouzin]

I think it was rude of Michio Kaku to interrupt Dennett with his horn practice at the end of the interview. I understand that musicians need their practice and it's always difficult to find a quiet place to do it, but Dennett was in the middle of a point. This happens to Dennett every time he tries to lecture, Michio Kaku's always in the crowd with his damn French Horn. It happened at Ted Talks. The real irony is he goes to brass band practice and lectures them on theoretical Physics.

[SmoothPinkWater]

Michio is great; but he seems to be a pretty terrible interviewer. At least in this interview. IE asking the same question about why religion carries on about 5 times; to Daniels credit though, he answered it differently every time and kept the interview interesting.

[mystisme]

boy dennett still everything from my mouth i surlly want to meet him i have so much to say,for an exemple religion since man died so yong in those day man incertain age had a duty towards yongester out to live as a species and it was to give guide line and rituals ect.. i could exposed it for long time but i have a limit words of comments but please read between the line

[Afterthoughtbtw]

Maybe the society with the religious ideas thinks that their god tells them to kill the tribe without the religious ideas, and as their god can't be wrong, and must be followed, they go and slaughter the non-religious tribe...

[bathingking]

In fact many tribal societies may have been much more sophisticated in their social relation to the unconscious than we are. Look at the world, it is a mess, we are at a potential breaking point, where humans may become extinct because of social disease. All that we have now to bring us in touch with our underlying feelings an intuitions thoughts and sensations are movies and music but our religious social structure is in shambles.

[bathingking]

It is Dark Matter/energy that seems to be the force within the universe that makes the planets function the way they are, it is the unconscious which shapes our consciousness (what we believe to be "real"). Wether we will be able to understand Dark Matter is a mystery just like understanding the unconscious is a mystery. Tribal people were just as smart as we are in relation to the unconscious, its our arrogance that looks at them thinking that they didnt know better but simply made trees talk.

[bathingking]

It gives us strength to be in touch with the unconscious structure which we are following throughout our lives. Religion (to link back) gives us a interpretation of that structure and therefore creates the feeling of being in harmony with ourselves. The characters within various religions are somewhat similar, coincidence?, they are what's within us but we don't see it, they have to be stimulated for us,to relate to it. Of course the unconscious is a scary thing and enables some to scare others.

[bathingking]

Every living being has most of its psyche within a unconscious setting. Just like we know very little of what goes on out in the universe we also know little of what goes on inside of our psyche. Every species lives by a structure which we did not invent, we are born with it, religion lends visualisation to that structure and therefore interprets our unconscious make up for us. Animals have social rules and so do we, we follow "out of the blue" impulses which many times shape our lives.

[evolution077]

Dan was right on the spot when he was talking about the placebo-effect of religions.

And religion-addicted people just don't want that to be taken away.

That's why as all addictions also religion is difficult to be cured. Even sometimes for otherwise rational, intelligent people.

[thruthem]

Great post!