I'm not sure I 100% agree that human beings could always reason the same way we do now. I mean our ideals on principles of justice, morality, and some of the more abstract stuff were really hazy for a long time. I mean things like the Hammurabi Code wouldn't fly now, but then it probably made sense. Steal bread? Well we will cut your hands off, so you can't steal anymore bread. Of course from that standpoint we could argue that they had nothing at their disposal to stop said person from stealing bread besides cutting off their hands. Would they have ever been concerned with why the person stole bread? I'm not sure, so it's a bit tough for me to think that thinking hasn't evolved over time. I think for religion I would love to add morality to the list. I think that religions aren't inherently bad its the institutionalizing of them when things get murky. At their base though religion begins by teaching you to care for your fellow human being because a higher power tells you, but as time goes on you see this evolution of the understanding of those ideals. It moves from 'a higher power told you to' to 'all life is made by a higher power and thus all of it is precious in it's own right' I can even attest to it in my own life. I was raised catholic, and while I don't tend to consider myself catholic anymore it is thanks to a lot of those moral teachings that I learn to care for people the way I try to. Interesting discussion though I will be keeping my eye on this one.
Our concepts of morality have evolved over time. Partly because philosophy, law, and general morality evolved over time. It goes back to the whole building off of the ideas of previous generations. The other reason our concepts of morality evolved though, was because as society becomes more complex, so do our moral and legal dilemmas. We would often try our best to lay down the groundwork for solid morals to support us not only today, but also in the unforseen future. For a crude example, America's founding fathers would probably have never even thought about something as grand and far reaching as the internet. However their concepts of protected speech is something that can be applied to our modern technology. As I said to Ay-Nawn, I really hope to have a thread on religious institutions. The subject alone makes for great discussions.I'm not sure I 100% agree that human beings could always reason the same way we do now. I mean our ideals on principles of justice, morality, and some of the more abstract stuff were really hazy for a long time. I mean things like the Hammurabi Code wouldn't fly now, but then it probably made sense. Steal bread? Well we will cut your hands off, so you can't steal anymore bread. Of course from that standpoint we could argue that they had nothing at their disposal to stop said person from stealing bread besides cutting off their hands. Would they have ever been concerned with why the person stole bread? I'm not sure, so it's a bit tough for me to think that thinking hasn't evolved over time.
I think for religion I would love to add morality to the list. I think that religions aren't inherently bad its the institutionalizing of them when things get murky.
I'd definitely be interested in the religious establishment discussion. Took a few history course based on the European institution of the Holy Roman Catholic church, and I'm taking a course next semester based on the propagandizing of religious belief in the Middle Ages. Some of the stuff that went on was crazy. Also I'm with everyone else about making this a new tag.
That sounds interesting as fuck. If your teacher points you in the direction of any good, free articles, link them here. I'd love to read them.I'm taking a course next semester based on the propagandizing of religious belief in the Middle Ages.