Warden religion is:
"...a mystical, ritualistic pantheism..." (p. 125)
- whereas Ranger philosophy is:
"...a harsh materialistic theory of history." (ibid.)
Can a theory be harsh? We can only read between the lines here. I take these phrases to mean that Ranger philosophy is mechanically reductionist, i.e., that it asserts that all that exists is mechanically interacting particles with only the quantifiable properties of mass and volume and that consciousness is "nothing but"/entirely reducible to neuronic interactions. This is an outmoded scientific theory. A more advanced materialist philosophy asserts that energy is dynamic, not mechanical, and that quantitative changes in complexity and sensitivity generate irreducible qualitative transformations, including consciousness.
I would add to this that individuals and groups can intuit their oneness with being/energy and can express this oneness through rituals. Therefore, I expect the later "time wardens" period to synthesize Warden and Ranger world-views.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Or the Time Wardens might have rejected all forms of materialism and pantheism.
And some of Brann's remarks to Lockridge were anything but harshly materialistic.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: humans find it difficult to be entirely materialistic, because we have an inherent tendency to project conscious intention onto everything in our environment. I'm convinced this is a side-effect of our 'modeling' other people's personalities as a social skill.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree. But I also believe there actually is such a thing as the supernatural and divine revelation. And I believe places like Lourdes are stumbling blocks to the more dogmatic materialists.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
DOGMATIC materialists, yes, of course. Science is a stumbling block to dogmatic fundamentalists.
Materialism is a philosophical theory of the relationship between being and consciousness, not a denial that as yet unexplained events occur.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
As a Catholic I don't really care what the more unreasonable evangelical Protestants think.
And I continue to reject materialism.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
You don't really care about fellow Christians?
Of course you reject materialism. The purpose of these exchanges is hardly to get you to accept it. I try to clarify what materialism is, not to convince you of it. You continue to oppose materialism to Lourdes because you continue to think that materialism is not a philosophical theory of the relationship between being and consciousness but a scientific claim that every recorded event can currently be explained in terms of the laws of physics.
Paul.
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