Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Ideas are not things.

The human brain has two minds: rational and magical.

The supernatural realm is a product of the human brain; it exists nowhere else. It is our mistaken belief in the supernatural as the source of reality that causes us to create havoc in the natural world. The brain does not create reality; it creates ideas about reality, most of which are inaccurate.

Natural and supernatural ideas coexist in the human brain. People who are unacquainted with the scientific explanation of phenomena have only magical explanations to fall back upon. In the United States, people with a religious bias are frightened by the teaching of science and mathematics. The hysteria associated with this reaction shows a mental regression toward the dark days of the Dark Ages. Analytical thinking has all but disappeared from American life. Emotional entrenchment, childish behavior well into adulthood, and infantile self-centeredness are defended as political rights. The hard-won facts about how nature works are a mystery to generations of Americans, who therefore make poor choices in all aspects of adult life.

The supernatural dimension is a product of the human brain. Supernatural ideas are in direct conflict with how nature works: supernatural ideas are the product of magical thinking. We do not recognize our dependence on magical ideas because we defend and perpetuate the belief that invisible magical beings created our world, and that they continue to control people and events. Science and technology are the source of modern cultures; magic is an insufficient foundation for the survival of modern humans.