Reply to Re: Cause and effect
If you don't have an account, just leave the password field blank.
True, many people don't need the motivation of religion anymore. What are they, instead, motivated by? Lust for power, sex, respect of others, revenge on those who have dealt "unjustly" with them, drugs and so on. Humans sink to the lowest denominator, given the opportunity.
I very strongly disagree with many parts of this generalization... but I may meander a bit with my rebuttal (as is the style of the DN).
No, all humans have the capacity to go to that "lowest denominator", but that does not mean that they go there under normal circumstances. Socialization and learning are important parts of who we are as people, not just the those base animals parts. Theism (that's the word you're looking for, not Deism) in the way that you are describing is merely a traditional form of social control employed by Western societies since at least the Middle Ages. You can still be motivated by a belief in things greater than yourself without a belief in a reward... the well-being and healthy continuation of your species, your children, the planet. These are all also very strong motivators. Even on a base level, people can and do get pleasure from them.
Even with for people raised with modern Theistic religion all those "lowest denominator" motivators would be just as strong as someone raised without it. And in my experience, I have found that such religious people merely suppress and deny these urges, so that they are expressed unconsciously or done in secret. Both of these tend to make them rather unpleasant and destructive people, as they attack the very same urges in others as they themselves indulge in (whether they wish to acknowledge it or not).
Granted, suppression and denial is not an inherently religious thing, but it is a rather huge problem in most.
Personally, I believe that the best thing one can do is acknowledge these aspects and balance them for a greater purpose as there is nothing intrinsically wrong with desire for power, sex, respect, justice, or altered states.
I very strongly disagree with many parts of this generalization... but I may meander a bit with my rebuttal (as is the style of the DN).
No, all humans have the capacity to go to that "lowest denominator", but that does not mean that they go there under normal circumstances. Socialization and learning are important parts of who we are as people, not just the those base animals parts. Theism (that's the word you're looking for, not Deism) in the way that you are describing is merely a traditional form of social control employed by Western societies since at least the Middle Ages. You can still be motivated by a belief in things greater than yourself without a belief in a reward... the well-being and healthy continuation of your species, your children, the planet. These are all also very strong motivators. Even on a base level, people can and do get pleasure from them.
Even with for people raised with modern Theistic religion all those "lowest denominator" motivators would be just as strong as someone raised without it. And in my experience, I have found that such religious people merely suppress and deny these urges, so that they are expressed unconsciously or done in secret. Both of these tend to make them rather unpleasant and destructive people, as they attack the very same urges in others as they themselves indulge in (whether they wish to acknowledge it or not).
Granted, suppression and denial is not an inherently religious thing, but it is a rather huge problem in most.
Personally, I believe that the best thing one can do is acknowledge these aspects and balance them for a greater purpose as there is nothing intrinsically wrong with desire for power, sex, respect, justice, or altered states.
