cappin
23rd April 2008, 04:10
Reiss said that each of the 16 basic desires outlined in the book influence the psychological appeal of religious behavior. The desires are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility...Go to:http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/religdes.htm
This is a response to a professor's new theory. Tell me your thoughts. (You can e-mail him too, if you'd like)
...I'm interested in your theory about reasons for religion. I think you did really well in your research of finding our basic needs. Although I believe, myself, that we may be simpler and the reason why we develop individual personalities could be because we actually fall into an environment and adapt to it; not that we have a choice or inclination. For instance, I could go down your list of basic needs and explain how they came to be, but I'll begin with religion.
One doesn't sift through the 1,005 religions available to them throughout the world when they are introduced to one and accept it as true, but rather, they are commonly indoctrinated at a young age to believe as they are told, and often that they will otherwise suffer eternal consequences if not compliant. This is a sad form of brainwashing oppression and leads to people who are made to believe, perhaps later in life, that the real reasons they believe are justified and what they want; instead of what the society that reared them persuaded them to.
Also, if you will consider what I think are the ultimate distinguishing factors of the great divide between people: leadership mentality, herd mentality, and the ranks to and from. Those who devise a religion are what I would call the top leaders, then onto those who promote its popularity through the copying and printing of its text and the discussion and lecturing of its interpretation, the second rank. After we have the creation and distribution, we have the average public masses who take what they're given and are content in its narrow minded, single sourced production.
The reasons may very well be because of our basic desires, as you have theorized, but it is difficult to determine the whats, hows, and whys.
I certainly see a discernable pattern; not only is it prevalent in religion, but in all forms of human structure, like government.
People don't have stronger characteristics by choice, but chance. One may say "I would like to be a more charitable person" but at the same time would need left with an opportunity to be beforehand. He would need to have things to offer and time to do it, and unless he is in the right situation to where he can, he is unable. Or, we could take it a step further and have somebody who wants to be the president of the united states, but he doesn't have the proper amount of money or educational resources to enter into politics. He would like to be wealthy and educated but he can't find the right opportunity once again, for he's a mechanic in south kentucky who only knows what he was raised on. He wants to move to the city in hopes of a more reasonable salary so he can attend a college, but it's no guaranteed success and, alas, he hasn't the financial aid to travel. The funny thing is, these people only want what they do because they've somehow been conditioned to through the economy and the like.
Our only drives are desire, whatever else is involved is environmental circumstance. One desire may lead a million into its clutches, as they're unmotivated and have fallen prey to the more dominant . They want things made easy because the easier life is made for them, the less pain they will endure. At the same time, their lives are entirely less gratifying. There are, however, reasons for the strong and weak of our society; all pointing towards chance.
And finally, I must remind you that you could classify one of our natural desires as "wanting a pink pony" but, of course...
This is a response to a professor's new theory. Tell me your thoughts. (You can e-mail him too, if you'd like)
...I'm interested in your theory about reasons for religion. I think you did really well in your research of finding our basic needs. Although I believe, myself, that we may be simpler and the reason why we develop individual personalities could be because we actually fall into an environment and adapt to it; not that we have a choice or inclination. For instance, I could go down your list of basic needs and explain how they came to be, but I'll begin with religion.
One doesn't sift through the 1,005 religions available to them throughout the world when they are introduced to one and accept it as true, but rather, they are commonly indoctrinated at a young age to believe as they are told, and often that they will otherwise suffer eternal consequences if not compliant. This is a sad form of brainwashing oppression and leads to people who are made to believe, perhaps later in life, that the real reasons they believe are justified and what they want; instead of what the society that reared them persuaded them to.
Also, if you will consider what I think are the ultimate distinguishing factors of the great divide between people: leadership mentality, herd mentality, and the ranks to and from. Those who devise a religion are what I would call the top leaders, then onto those who promote its popularity through the copying and printing of its text and the discussion and lecturing of its interpretation, the second rank. After we have the creation and distribution, we have the average public masses who take what they're given and are content in its narrow minded, single sourced production.
The reasons may very well be because of our basic desires, as you have theorized, but it is difficult to determine the whats, hows, and whys.
I certainly see a discernable pattern; not only is it prevalent in religion, but in all forms of human structure, like government.
People don't have stronger characteristics by choice, but chance. One may say "I would like to be a more charitable person" but at the same time would need left with an opportunity to be beforehand. He would need to have things to offer and time to do it, and unless he is in the right situation to where he can, he is unable. Or, we could take it a step further and have somebody who wants to be the president of the united states, but he doesn't have the proper amount of money or educational resources to enter into politics. He would like to be wealthy and educated but he can't find the right opportunity once again, for he's a mechanic in south kentucky who only knows what he was raised on. He wants to move to the city in hopes of a more reasonable salary so he can attend a college, but it's no guaranteed success and, alas, he hasn't the financial aid to travel. The funny thing is, these people only want what they do because they've somehow been conditioned to through the economy and the like.
Our only drives are desire, whatever else is involved is environmental circumstance. One desire may lead a million into its clutches, as they're unmotivated and have fallen prey to the more dominant . They want things made easy because the easier life is made for them, the less pain they will endure. At the same time, their lives are entirely less gratifying. There are, however, reasons for the strong and weak of our society; all pointing towards chance.
And finally, I must remind you that you could classify one of our natural desires as "wanting a pink pony" but, of course...