So what is the world if it is not binary? It is layered and nuanced. Just as good coffee is a blend of many tastes, so are our experience and decisions blends of many factors. And by nuanced, I mean that the factors may be interactive. To move on from religion as a culture we must also move on from binary thinking. When we as a culture can remove the filter that converts all into good and evil, us and them, moral and immoral, then we can reclaim our creature-ness.
Good post. Religion is not one thing—there are many kinds of religion and there are meaningful aspects to all of them. To jump from rote religious belief to rote physicalism or scientism is to jump from the frying pan into the fire IMO.
Better would be to move away from dualistic thinking into periods of deep awareness, appreciation and reverence. It’s not one or the other—we need a degree of dualistic thinking in our everyday lives for survival.
Thanks for this thoughtful post.
I don’t think religion is the source of our binariness. It is our creature-ness that supplies that. Civilization (literacy, business, religion, science, art, etc.) is where we strive for and express nuance and transcendence from our animal nature.
Then our efforts are instantly swamped by three point seven billion years of biological evolution, and we blame our failure on our corrupted culture, because it is our nature to take credit or give blame.
We think we can do more than we are really able to, or we think we are unable to do as much as we actually can. We are binary like that... by nature. It is only by patient striving through practice that individuals occasionally build the skills of exaptation necessary for the escape from our adapted nature. (IMO)
Great insight, but I fear it is a tall order. There is so much appeal in the simplicity of binary thinking, despite it being inaccurate. Small children intuatively go for binary categories. Nuance is unsettling to people who want concrete assurances.
Would be nice. But the world is full of religions, governments and commercial institutions, who all want people to be good hungry consumers, of whatever they are trying to sell.
And that means that they want people to remain forever as spoiled demanding children, ever needy, impatient, uncritical of the offerings and aways without moderation. Nuance, care, thought, and mature moderation are not on the agenda.