Angela
Elite member
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December was so busy that I missed the announcement of this study.
The link to the article in Science is here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211124528.htm
Basically, the authors are proposing that Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity, what they call the "moralizing" religions, all arose at the same time in very different parts of the world because their rise was triggered by the fact that people were able to start thinking about these philosophical questions only when they didn't have to spend every waking moment worried about the practical aspects of survival.
"These doctrines all emphasized the value of 'personal transcendence,'" the researchers write, "the notion that human existence has a purpose, distinct from material success, that lies in a moral existence and the control of one's own material desires, through moderation (in food, sex, ambition, etc.), asceticism (fasting, abstinence, detachment), and compassion (helping, suffering with others)."
I think transcendence is different from "moralizing", and I don't think I agree that people didn't have concern in prior eras about "transcending" this world.
The link to the article in Science is here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211124528.htm
Basically, the authors are proposing that Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity, what they call the "moralizing" religions, all arose at the same time in very different parts of the world because their rise was triggered by the fact that people were able to start thinking about these philosophical questions only when they didn't have to spend every waking moment worried about the practical aspects of survival.
"These doctrines all emphasized the value of 'personal transcendence,'" the researchers write, "the notion that human existence has a purpose, distinct from material success, that lies in a moral existence and the control of one's own material desires, through moderation (in food, sex, ambition, etc.), asceticism (fasting, abstinence, detachment), and compassion (helping, suffering with others)."
I think transcendence is different from "moralizing", and I don't think I agree that people didn't have concern in prior eras about "transcending" this world.