The Knowledge Drive: Confronting Mythological BeliefsDog Ear Publishing, 2008 - 252 sivua The Knowledge Drive is an optimistic book that demonstrates how new, more accurate information conveys survival value and inevitably supplants our dysfunctional mythological beliefs. Before there was time for the accumulation of knowledge, early man created legends and religious myths to "understand" the world and ease the paralyzing awareness of his own mortality and the fear of natural forces beyond his control. We are increasingly aware of how these magical beliefs can lead to divisive religious practices, violence, and mans' continuing inhumanity to fellow man. Change is clearly needed. Now, rapid advances in many fields are giving us the techniques to modify our evolution and curtail our virulence. We can establish a more universal, equitable morality based on more accurate intelligence about our origins and place in the universe. Nevertheless, it is up to us as a species to choose our own future directions. We are thus in charge of our own destiny, a threatening thought to many. No prayers or appeals to magical forces will help. Dr. Bardon analyzes how our quest for knowledge is a basic human drive similar to the sex and nourishment drives. It arises from our survival instinct and is not based on moral or altruistic factors. Along with establishing knowledge as a source of power, the author discusses the Knowledge Drive from many other perspectives: its various motivations; the fact that it can be used for many purposes, even destructive ones; how it learns from adversity; how it often exacerbates inequality; and how it does not solve social problems unless given the necessary direction. Dr. Bardon looks at the multiple forces aligned against our efforts to obtain more reliable information. He shows how the Knowledge Drive not only triumphs over but also learns from these negative elements. Warnings about the fragility of our search for knowledge are misguided-it is rather the people mired in mythology who are vulnerable and need our compassion. |
Kirjan sisältä
Tulokset 1 - 5 kokonaismäärästä 31
Sivu 3
... potential to influence others . There were also people who floundered as they clung to outdated myths , rituals , superstitions , and " the way things always were . " Living in such a static world , they could not work out better ...
... potential to influence others . There were also people who floundered as they clung to outdated myths , rituals , superstitions , and " the way things always were . " Living in such a static world , they could not work out better ...
Sivu 7
... potential . It can even be considered spiritual , as will be explored in depth later . The nature of our Knowledge Drive has three basic facets , which are all interrelated and ultimately form a single , unified whole : Section 1 : The ...
... potential . It can even be considered spiritual , as will be explored in depth later . The nature of our Knowledge Drive has three basic facets , which are all interrelated and ultimately form a single , unified whole : Section 1 : The ...
Sivu 22
... potential . Some desperately seek the status quo ; others wish to pursue new ideas , no matter where they may lead ... potentially dangerous to any idea . We do not know which concepts will become outdated as they are challenged by new ...
... potential . Some desperately seek the status quo ; others wish to pursue new ideas , no matter where they may lead ... potentially dangerous to any idea . We do not know which concepts will become outdated as they are challenged by new ...
Sivu 27
... potentially overwhelming emo- tions are excluded from the field of conscious awareness . It is not a delib- erate and conscious effort of rejection , but rather an involuntary repudiation , a non - conscious process acting automatically ...
... potentially overwhelming emo- tions are excluded from the field of conscious awareness . It is not a delib- erate and conscious effort of rejection , but rather an involuntary repudiation , a non - conscious process acting automatically ...
Sivu 29
... potential , it is the here and now that counts.2 Section 2 : The Desire for a Longer Life Span A close corollary of existential anger as a motivator of the Knowledge Drive is the wish to be immortal , or at least to live substantially ...
... potential , it is the here and now that counts.2 Section 2 : The Desire for a Longer Life Span A close corollary of existential anger as a motivator of the Knowledge Drive is the wish to be immortal , or at least to live substantially ...
Sisältö
1 | |
35 | |
Chapter 4 | 55 |
Chapter 5 | 92 |
Chapter 8 | 106 |
Chapter 9 | 120 |
Chapter 10 | 133 |
Chapter 11 | 150 |
Chapter 12 | 161 |
Chapter 13 | 169 |
Chapter 16 | 221 |
Index | 237 |
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ability areas basic become behavior body Boorstin Carl Sagan cells ceremonies clone humans concept continue created creative culture death Demon-Haunted World desire discover discovery disease divine drugs Earth edge embryos End of Faith environment evil evolution evolutionary fear forces functioning future genes genetic God Delusion gods groups growth of knowledge Human Cloning Ibid illness immortality increasing increasingly India individuals investigation knowl Knowledge Drive knowledge growth Listening to Prozac live magical magical thinking medicine modern modify moral motivated mysteries mythological beliefs mythology myths nations Natural Selection nature neurotransmitters Newsweek paranormal patients planet population potential prayer problems progress psychiatric religion religious Richard Dawkins ritual sacrifice Sagan Sam Harris schizophrenia scientific scientists search for knowledge Section seek sexual social society space spirits Sun Chief survival techniques Thalidomide tion understanding University Press York