|
I recently read Sapiens by Yuval Harari, and this is a recurring theme in the book. "Collective fictions" throughout human history, the different forms of these myths, and how they help a society grow, or need to change as one does grow. One sort of related example is local religions versus universal, missionary religions. The majority of religions in history have been local and exclusive. Deities such as nature/animal spirits and the like, other tribes may have their own spirits in their own regions, and there is no need to convert people outside of your regions. But the most successful religions are ones are universal and missionary; they believe that their religion is affects everyone, regardless of whether they believe it (and is often the only true religion), and that for some reason, it is beneficial to convert others to your religion. Ideas like money, capitalism, art, really anything not essential to the biology of humans, are such "fictions", and the most successful (from any evolutionary standpoint) societies are the ones that have or adapt the most effective "fictions" for their societies. I guess to put it in HN terms, "how scalable are your beliefs?" A lot of the old ways we've lost touch with, or never had, aren't helpful to modern society. A hunting trip in which you become a man doesn't amount to much in a society with mega-farms, slaughter mills and processed foods that don't expire immediately. Instead, our equivalent goals would be like "get a degree, get another degree, get a job". You're an adult when you're old enough to vote, and so on. There's a lot of other topics as well, but that's what stuck with me the most and my interpretation of it. It's fascinating to think about. |
Monotheism has a lot to answer for. It began with Judaism, which has a certain exclusivity, but does not take the missionary position of universal adoption and conversion. It is surely the descendants, Christianity and Islam, where the polarizing missionary zeal of crusade and jihad has caused a lot of trouble. While many religions practice ostracism for the non-believer, only Islam insists on death to the apostate, who is seen as a traitor by definition, even without any further subversive or mutinous action.
Unfortunately, the doctrinaire and totalitarian proselytizing religions seem to have been quite scalable and successful. The Reformation and the Enlightenment have successfully turned back the tide of Catholicism in the West, but the challenge to Islam has yet to really get started.
Given the exploding demographics of the relevant parts of south Asia, Middle East and Africa, that future struggle gets harder by the hour. Indeed, it is the intensive demographic success of the subjugation of women and the rejection of contraception that has propelled these expansive conquering religions through history. It seems very likely that Japan and Russia will decline in population (no immigration), Europe will be Islamized and North America will be (re-)Hispanized with Catholicism.
The Reformed and Enlightened might have liberated themselves into an evolutionary dead-end of personal choice, free from enslavement by community propaganda and intimidation, but ultimately just a fleeting moment of liberty before the incoming tide of ruthless and fertile monotheists.