> So here is the problem, the more we relax the constraints of the material world, the more we can use the non-rational parts of our brain.
The other part of the problem, as you alluded to with your discussions of ideologies, is that the more the constrains get relaxed, the more the rational parts of our brains can get filled with false beliefs.
There is one point in this current article that I'd like to explore briefly. You make the point that "Ideologies sabotage our ability to deal with mental disorders". While I agree with that in a general sense, I have a somewhat different perspective. Sort of "upstream".
I think that each individual has a propensity to adhere to ideologies, and to the category of "ideologies" I'd add "religions". So that in each individual is a need to *believe*. Belief is necessary for daily life in all societies since belief is the needed source of certainty for making a decision. "Is the traffic light green? I *believe* that I can cross the intersection safely..."
Now, whether that individual accepts an external belief system based on an authoritative source (political manifesto, religious texts), or rather bases their belief system on personal empiricism (as with the traffic light) determines to what degree they can be influenced by ideologies, for good or ill. Belief in externally supplied systems is an open door to influence and manipulation by bad actors.
And I'll heartily endorse your use of a Gauss distribution to explain social phenomena! This is very important when trying to understand how a society interacts. The tendencies are all over the place, but for each tendency there is a distribution such as you describe. The same goes for my idea on belief systems: external/authoritative or internal/empirical.
Good to consider the negative sides of "progress" and prosperity, as well as the positive material and other benefits. A cautionary tale that maybe we need to stop short of "Idiocy"? :-)
Interesting discussion of the genetic factors contributing to our inherited psychological elements. With the advent of evolutionary psychology, that view is gaining wider acceptance. I will try to go through your World Psychiatry article on genetic aspects being discovered or assessed. It is certainly reasonable that we all have a suite of genetically determined (or at least influenced) mental features or characteristics that define us, and most of those exist on some spectrum or distribution, whether for the ability to play in the NBA, or desire chocolate, or be an atheist or an evangelical fundamentalist, or a thousand others.
> So here is the problem, the more we relax the constraints of the material world, the more we can use the non-rational parts of our brain.
The other part of the problem, as you alluded to with your discussions of ideologies, is that the more the constrains get relaxed, the more the rational parts of our brains can get filled with false beliefs.
Thank you for the link to this article. It explores at greater depth the thoughts I expressed in my comment on your article: https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/a-manifesto-for-the-progress-based
There is one point in this current article that I'd like to explore briefly. You make the point that "Ideologies sabotage our ability to deal with mental disorders". While I agree with that in a general sense, I have a somewhat different perspective. Sort of "upstream".
I think that each individual has a propensity to adhere to ideologies, and to the category of "ideologies" I'd add "religions". So that in each individual is a need to *believe*. Belief is necessary for daily life in all societies since belief is the needed source of certainty for making a decision. "Is the traffic light green? I *believe* that I can cross the intersection safely..."
Now, whether that individual accepts an external belief system based on an authoritative source (political manifesto, religious texts), or rather bases their belief system on personal empiricism (as with the traffic light) determines to what degree they can be influenced by ideologies, for good or ill. Belief in externally supplied systems is an open door to influence and manipulation by bad actors.
And I'll heartily endorse your use of a Gauss distribution to explain social phenomena! This is very important when trying to understand how a society interacts. The tendencies are all over the place, but for each tendency there is a distribution such as you describe. The same goes for my idea on belief systems: external/authoritative or internal/empirical.
Thanks for the follow-up comment.
I largely agree with you, and I go into more detail in this podcast. In the future, I will turn this into a written article and video.
Comments are welcome
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/why-do-ideologies-fail
Good to consider the negative sides of "progress" and prosperity, as well as the positive material and other benefits. A cautionary tale that maybe we need to stop short of "Idiocy"? :-)
Interesting discussion of the genetic factors contributing to our inherited psychological elements. With the advent of evolutionary psychology, that view is gaining wider acceptance. I will try to go through your World Psychiatry article on genetic aspects being discovered or assessed. It is certainly reasonable that we all have a suite of genetically determined (or at least influenced) mental features or characteristics that define us, and most of those exist on some spectrum or distribution, whether for the ability to play in the NBA, or desire chocolate, or be an atheist or an evangelical fundamentalist, or a thousand others.