In the beginning was Anxiety

[Penelope]

The essence of politics {the essence of religion} begins with neurobiology, but it does not end there ... {humans are} the only mammal born with a retarded neural system. This most premature of all mammals is so constructed, anatomically, that it has to seek protection throughout its life - initially from adults. By virtue of this completely natural state of dependence, history is a succession of various offers of religious protection: the tutelary spirits of primitive polydemonism {animism}, the protective gods of polytheism, the supreme Savior and patron saints of Christianity ...

In the beginning was Anxiety.

- Critique of Political Reason, 1981, page 193-194

A human being is genetically hardwired with a long childhood, compared to other animals.

Did years of dependence upon parents (and their adult substitutes) as a child, condition the human individual to rely upon this emotional feeling of protection?
A necessary, life-long hedge against anxiety?

Is this the true source of Religion?

 

[Dream]

I have no idea, but agree that the strength of our species lies in our vulnerability. My guess is the extra long life is necessary, because the kids take so long to grow up. Population control factors into it, too. Too many people, and the species starves. Too few, the species starves. This in turn necessitates an optimal average life-span and menopause to keep the species going strong.

 

[citizenzen]

Did years of dependence upon parents (and their adult substitutes) as a child, condition the human individual to rely upon this emotional feeling of protection?

Is this the true source of Religion?

Yes. And no.

Yes, we crave protection and security. But is this the source of religion? I don't think so. The source of religion is revelation or realization so profound that it immediately alters your path for the rest of your life. It opens one's mind in ways far more profound than mere security. It is beyond that.

We wouldn't build churches over simply security. A hole in the ground would do for that.

 

[Sam-i-am]

Yes. And no.

Yes, we crave protection and security. But is this the source of religion? I don't think so. The source of religion is revelation or realization so profound that it immediately alters your path for the rest of your life. It opens one's mind in ways far more profound than mere security. It is beyond that.

We wouldn't build churches over simply security. A hole in the ground would do for that.

Surley by that you could also argue that simply security is exactly what religeon is for. when the mind reaches the point where it knows that it does not know what happens inthe universe then it forms objects. aparations. ect. that can be tied to how everything works. it forms a blanket to cut out the harshness of reality. churches are monuments to the security of religeon, a safe haven for people of similar beliefs to congregate and protect themselves from reality

 

[Avi]

Surley by that you could also argue that simply security is exactly what religeon is for. when the mind reaches the point where it knows that it does not know what happens inthe universe then it forms objects. aparations. ect. that can be tied to how everything works. it forms a blanket to cut out the harshness of reality. churches are monuments to the security of religeon, a safe haven for people of similar beliefs to congregate and protect themselves from reality

Greetings Mr. Sam-I-Am, you sound like you might be an atheist . Is that your religious persuasion ??

 

[citizenzen]

Surley by that you could also argue that simply security is exactly what religeon is for. when the mind reaches the point where it knows that it does not know what happens inthe universe then it forms objects. aparations. ect. that can be tied to how everything works. it forms a blanket to cut out the harshness of reality. churches are monuments to the security of religeon, a safe haven for people of similar beliefs to congregate and protect themselves from reality

But what about the original "religious experience"? Is that just a result of apparitions?

Have you ever experienced one?

 

[Ahanu]

I don't see why the source of religion has to be one thing. In my speculative mind at the moment, I think the source of religion is many things, but anxiety is a good place to start looking for a source, I guess . . .

continue . . .

 

[Sam-i-am]

Greetings Mr. Sam-I-Am, you sound like you might be an atheist . Is that your religious persuasion ??

I supose that would an acurate description of my beliefs. Though i find certain religeons rather intriguing and that religeon can be a wonderfull thing for people that have time for it. so long as people dont try and force it on me. Likewise i dont try to force my on beliefs on anyone else. each individual has the rite to decide their on beliefs

 

[nativeastral]

No doubt anxiety had a part to play in the development of religions, as an antidote to the capriciousness and fate of the natural world. One can imagine how rituals began by correlating behaviours with outcomes perhaps instigated by a wierdo eating a magic mushroom and so early religion aka magic was born. Very early on man must have related in a visceral way to all that was around him and only later able to conceptualise distance and objectivity. Becoming master of his surroundings was abetted [in his mind] to these particular actions handed down as successful means [salvatory = remedy] to alleviate the unpredicatable basis of existence where in the blink of an eye you and yours can 'not be'.

Freud has 3 different kinds of anxiety which is related to his polarity of eros/thanatos [life/death drives]; the existentialists focus on this tension, comparing it to this nothingness or nullity sensed to be inherent within. Heidegger called this not being able to get 'behind your throwness' [birth] or 'beyond your demise' [death], hence the continual need for eternality in the human psyche.

 

[Dogbrain]

This "anxiety" is the origin of all civilization. Species that are "self-reliant" from birth do not create civilizations. Of course, if one wants to cash in on an adolescent macho fantasy, one writes a book about how bad this early-life dependency is, and one fills it with outright, blatant lies, like claiming that humans are "the only mammal born with a retarded neural system". Define "retarded neural system". Defend the standard for this definition. Sounds like some kind of silly macho fantasy about how a "neural system" is "supposed" to be at birth. Likewise, what are the zoological, neurological, and animal psychology qualifications of the author? Or is it yet another wankfest written by a "humanities" educated individual who pontificates nonsense without bothering to research material that backs up such absurd claims as "retarded neural system"?

 

[Penelope]

Hi Dogbrain

Regis Debray is a (yes, macho) Parisian Frenchman (as a journalist in the 1960s, Debray hiked all over the mountains of Bolivia with Che Guevara's band of revolutionaries, and was jailed by Brazilian authorities for it).
Debray's book was translated by David Macey from French to English in 1983.

The literal sense of Debray/Macey's phrase "retarded neural system" is likely lost in translation. And the problematic phrasing may also have to do with Debray's (and most French political thinkers') flashy journalistic style of writing.

I took the phrase to mean the same as my first sentence:
"A human being is genetically hardwired with a long childhood, compared to other animals."

Debray is also a voracious reader. (Nothing much else to do while jailed in Bolivia.) I suspect he knows more about the subject of neurology and childhood development than you and I put together.

Hope that unbunches your panties, and clarifies the matter.

& & &

Find more on Debray and the group-dynamics inherent in Religion ... in other posts of mine, in the "Dream to Tao" thread.

 

[citizenzen]

Debray is also a voracious reader. (Nothing much else to do while jailed in Bolivia.) I suspect he knows more about the subject of neurology and childhood development than you and I put together.

Maybe it's just me — (tugs on underpants) — but I can't imagine that 1960's Bolivian jails had extensive collections on neurobiology or child development.

 

[Dogbrain]

Debray is also a voracious reader. (Nothing much else to do while jailed in Bolivia.) I suspect he knows more about the subject of neurology and childhood development than you and I put together.

Hello, I do research in molecular neurogenetics of Alzheimer's disease and autism about 40-60 hours per week.

If you like, I could post citations of my publications of recent years.

I suspect that M. Debray, however "voracious" a reader he might be, is still an amateur when it comes to neuroscience and childhood development. But what do I know, I merely research the subject, I'm not a reporter with an agenda.