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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Curious Phenomenon: Dogmatism

I came across it today when looking up something about Charles T. Tart, a psychologist largely associated with paranormal studies. In that process I became aware of the manner in which Tart is treated by the scientifically dogmatic, read by materialists. I had to chuckle. I began life surrounded by religious dogmatism—and nearing its end surrounded by its opposite. Idries Shah says somewhere that those greedy for heaven and those greedy for wealth have something in common: greed. There is a common factor in dogmatism as well, although it is somewhat submerged. A small element in it might just be—disbelief. It would fit both kinds equally well. Why else the fierce clinging? Why the attempt, when actual coercive power is denied the dogmatist, to persuade the unbeliever? A personally held belief is not, evidently, sufficient for everyone. It must be held by many—and ideally by the society as a whole—in order to dispense its soothing anointment on the individual. Yes. It is odd to live in a society where most members of large and influential elites hold views of reality quite contrary to my own. Odd but not precisely threatening. I rant a great deal about Modernity myself, but, frankly, secular times in which the Market is god are by far the most pleasant in which to live. Heterodox books still find their publishers, assembly with like-minded people is still possible, and you can say what you like. The grown-ups, be they atheists, believers, or somewhere else in that spectrum, do not burn witches or parapsychologists. They’re grateful for knowledge, wherever it comes from.

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