Filed under: General Musings, Government, NYT, Politics, Predictions, Religion, Society, Violence, Writing stuff
Last weekend a friend sent me a link to a long piece in the New York Times titled “The Politics of God“, written by Columbia University humanities professor Mark Lilla. It was a difficult week here for me, so I didn’t get around to reading the full article until this morning. I recommend you do so at your first opportunity, since the meat of the thing will help you to understand a fundamental threat that we face…it’s just not the fundamental threat that the author of the piece talks about.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main thrust of the author’s argument is framed in terms of the West’s relations with Islam. This topic tends to dominate the news and what passes for foreign affairs these days, so that in itself is to be expected – it’s how you get published. And he has some valuable perspective to offer on the subject. But it is in his outline of the history of political theology in the West that the real value (and the more important threat) is contained.
In a few quick paragraphs Lilla sets out the basic paradigm of how politics and religion were intertwined in European history, how that lead to the Wars of Religion, then the political theories of Thomas Hobbes and on into the Enlightenment. One nice passage from this:
Fresh from the Wars of Religion, Hobbes’s readers knew all about fear. Their lives had become, as he put it, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” And when he announced that a new political philosophy could release them from fear, they listened. Hobbes planted a seed, a thought that it might be possible to build legitimate political institutions without grounding them on divine revelation. He knew it was impossible to refute belief in divine revelation; the most one can hope to do is cast suspicion on prophets claiming to speak about politics in God’s name. The new political thinking would no longer concern itself with God’s politics; it would concentrate on men as believers in God and try to keep them from harming one another. It would set its sights lower than Christian political theology had, but secure what mattered most, which was peace.
Lilla calls this “the Great Separation”. Another relevant bit:
Though there was great reluctance to adopt Hobbes’s most radical views on religion, in the English-speaking world the intellectual principles of the Great Separation began to take hold in the 18th century. Debate would continue over where exactly to place the line between religious and political institutions, but arguments about the legitimacy of theocracy petered out in all but the most forsaken corners of the public square. There was no longer serious controversy about the relation between the political order and the divine nexus; it ceased to be a question. No one in modern Britain or the United States argued for a bicameral legislature on the basis of divine revelation.
OK, that passage about theocracy is where Lilla hangs his argument about the differences between the West and Islam. But it is precisely where I see the real threat: that within our own country there has been a growing movement to once again merge belief with political power. It carries more subtle names now, and is moving slowly, ever so slowly, so as not to alarm the bulk of the populace, but “arguments about the legitimacy of theocracy” are no longer confined to “all but the most forsaken corners of the public square.”
I think Lilla knows this, and it is implicit in his argument, however it may be positioned towards Islam. After tracing how a renewed liberal theology developed in Germany in the 19th century, and lead directly to the horrors of Nazism, the central threat of his piece is set forth:
All of which served to confirm Hobbes’s iron law: Messianic theology eventually breeds messianic politics. The idea of redemption is among the most powerful forces shaping human existence in all those societies touched by the biblical tradition. It has inspired people to endure suffering, overcome suffering and inflict suffering on others. It has offered hope and inspiration in times of darkness; it has also added to the darkness by arousing unrealistic expectations and justifying those who spill blood to satisfy them. All the biblical religions cultivate the idea of redemption, and all fear its power to inflame minds and deafen them to the voice of reason. In the writings of these Weimar figures, we encounter what those orthodox traditions always dreaded: the translation of religious notions of apocalypse and redemption into a justification of political messianism, now under frightening modern conditions. It was as if nothing had changed since the 17th century, when Thomas Hobbes first sat down to write his “Leviathan.”
The revival of political theology in the modern West is a humbling story. It reminds us that this way of thinking is not the preserve of any one culture or religion, nor does it belong solely to the past. It is an age-old habit of mind that can be reacquired by anyone who begins looking to the divine nexus of God, man and world to reveal the legitimate political order. This story also reminds us how political theology can be adapted to circumstances and reassert itself, even in the face of seemingly irresistible forces like modernization, secularization and democratization. Rousseau was on to something: we seem to be theotropic creatures, yearning to connect our mundane lives, in some way, to the beyond. That urge can be suppressed, new habits learned, but the challenge of political theology will never fully disappear so long as the urge to connect survives.
So we are heirs to the Great Separation only if we wish to be, if we make a conscious effort to separate basic principles of political legitimacy from divine revelation. Yet more is required still. Since the challenge of political theology is enduring, we need to remain aware of its logic and the threat it poses. This means vigilance, but even more it means self-awareness. We must never forget that there was nothing historically inevitable about our Great Separation, that it was and remains an experiment.
A grand experiment, and the basis for our Republic. But those who wish to turn this into a “Christian Nation” seek to undo it all, to plunge back into the messianic madness of a unified polity and church. They may not admit it, except amongst their fellows. And their followers probably do not fully understand the risk. But it is there, a yawning chasm in the darkness, into which we will fall if we turn from the light of reason.
[Communion of Dreams Spoiler warning.]
That threat, that horror, of course, lies at the very heart of Communion. It is the motivation of the Edenists, and it is reflected in the metaphor of the alien artifact as an object which is impossible to document scientifically yet is individually experienced and transforms understanding when encountered.
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to UTI.)
Filed under: Climate Change, Failure, Flu, General Musings, Global Warming, Health, Pandemic, Predictions, Press, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Writing stuff
GENEVA (AFP) – The World Health Organisation on Thursday warned that a new deadly infectious disease like AIDS or Ebola is bound to appear in the 21st century, in a report urging more global solidarity to tackle an expanding array of health threats.
“It would be extremely naive and complacent to assume that there will not be another disease like AIDS, another Ebola, another SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), sooner or later,” the 2007 World Health Report said.
It’s news like this, resulting from extensive scientific research into pandemics and potential threats from the development of infectious diseases thanks to climate change and further penetration of population into heretofore ‘remote’ areas, which lead me to use a pandemic flu as the basis for the history of Communion of Dreams. And I first started thinking about this about 10 years ago. In other words, nothing’s changed – but the science is consistent, and we’re likely overdue for a major global pandemic.
Comforting thought, isn’t it?
Jim Downey
Filed under: Artificial Intelligence, Expert systems, Predictions, Ray Kurzweil, Science, Science Fiction, Singularity, Singularity Institute, Society, tech
As I’ve said before, I’m a late-adopter of tech. I’m probably the last person in the US under the age of fifty and with an IQ above room temp who has made the transition over to Firefox.
Oh, it’s not as bad as it sounds – I’ve been running Mozilla for several years, and Netscape in one variety or another before that, all the way back to when I first got online in about ’93. But with the additional options available in Firefox2, it made sense to make the jump. So, with my good lady wife’s help (she’s the resident geek, not me) I switched yesterday, and then spent much of the rest of the day enjoying the much improved surfing experience, tweaking the set-up, learning the little quirks of the new software.
And also teaching it my own preferences and habits. This was the bit that I found amusing – that in one sense, I’m teaching Seth’s great-whatever-grandpappy his ABCs. Oh, we’re about 30 iterations of Moore’s Law away from the S-Series A.I. I have in Communion of Dreams, and a couple of computer ‘generations’ (if you consider that we’re currently in the fourth generation, that quantum computing will be the fifth, with my Tholin gel tech following that.) But it really does feel like something akin to a baby expert system I’m dealing with here, as we learn from one another.
I still don’t expect that we’ll experience a true Singularity such as Kurzweil and others have predicted, and the novel is in large part an exploration of why that is. But it is certainly the case that we’re moving towards a major threshold of technological change at an ever-increasing rate. Even late-adopters like me.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Flu, Health, Pandemic, Plague, Science, Science Fiction, Society
Research has established one component of the world-wide epidemic of obesity: a virus.
A common virus that causes colds can be a factor in obesity, according to a study released Monday offering further evidence that a weight problem may be contagious.
The adenovirus-36 (Ad 36) has already been implicated as the cause of weight gain in animals, but with this study researchers showed for the first time that it can also cause humans to pile on the pounds.
The findings could accelerate the development of a vaccine or an antiviral medication to help fight the battle of the bulge alongside diet and exercise.
It’s a slow-moving, slow-acting plague. This would go a long ways to explaining why obesity has become so wide-spread in the last few decades, and has been hinted at in previous studies. There are other factors, certainly, but establishing a tie to a viral component could be a huge factor in dealing with this problem more effectively.
I’m overweight by about 40 pounds. Partly this is a function of my lifestyle, with the lack of opportunity to be active and the additional stress of being a full-time care provider for someone with Alzheimer’s. I know that with a lot of effort in exercise and watching what I eat, I can shake off the excess pounds – I’ve done it a couple of times. But it is so much harder now than it was before, and my natural weight-point has changed from where it used to be a decade ago to where it is now. And this pattern is seen increasingly around the globe, where other factors at play in my life or in the typical American life can be eliminated.
In Communion I have a post-pandemic society, one which is recovering from a massive disruption caused by a flu virus which caused rapid death in a large percentage of the population. But the reality of what we’re dealing with might be even more insidious.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Ballistics, Failure, Fireworks, Guns, Marketing, movies, NASA, Science, Society, Space, tech, YouTube
A buddy of mine sent me a bunch of YouTube links last night to clips of explosions (among other things). Some were compilations of failed rocket launches, some were ‘stupid human tricks’. He knows, budding pyromaniac that I am, that I would enjoy such things. Hey, what do you expect from someone whose birthday is the Fourth of July?
Anyway, it got me thinking about a niche cable channel which would be sure to be a huge hit: The Explosions Channel. Oh, I know that The Discovery Channel does some of this, as does The History Channel. But on those, explosions provide the punctuation for other stories, with the occasional feature on firearms, artillery, fireworks, demolitions, et cetera which has a higher-than-average explosion count. But think of the potential for a channel where you just *know* that you could tune in and catch some big explosions, anytime, day or night! It’d be like MTV for the jaded geek, pure visual heroin for the explosions junkie. Guys like me could turn it on, and sit there, slack-jawed and drooling, eyes wide, as explosion after fireball after thunderous report . . .
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, General Musings, Health, Predictions, Religion, Society
A friend sent me a link to this CBS News item this morning:
Except that the article really isn’t about that. It’s more about where atheism fits in within our society, as seen through the vehicle of former Saturday Night Live actress Julia Sweeney, who discusses her own journey away from belief, and how it was received by her family:
Even more confusing for Sweeney personally was religion. She comes from a large Irish-Catholic family. But in her 30s, Sweeney says she began a spiritual quest. It led her away from any notion of God — a conversion she turned into a monologue, soon to be released as a film called “Letting Go of God.”
But of course, many people would disagree with Sweeney, especially her mother, Geri. She said it was a great shock that her daughter decided that there wasn’t enough evidence for her to believe in God.
“I just couldn’t believe that she had gotten to that place. I’m Catholic. I intend to continue to be Catholic,” Geri Sweeney said. “I think the Catholic Church is a wonderful place.”
It’s a long piece, but here is the bit I was intrigued by:
Julia Sweeney says she simply cannot believe in God because of a lack of evidence, but Prothero (Chair of the religious studies department at Boston University, and author of the recent book “Religious Literacy“) says that is where faith comes in.
“I have no trouble saying that, you know, we can’t prove the existence of God,” he said. “I think most Americans feel the same way.”
Julia’s mother Geri says she was taught in second grade that there was no proof that God exists.
“It doesn’t matter a bit to me,” she said. “I have a very personal relationship with my God and I don’t need any proof. I’m not searching for proof — and she is.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I was still trying to get to the bottom of my first cup of coffee this morning, when my MIL called for the third time since I had come downstairs about thirty minutes previously.
I entered the dark bedroom (it was barely 7 AM), went over to her bed. I leaned over the railing. “What do you need, MIL?”
“Are we there yet?”
“Where?”
“Boonville.” (A nearby town, and where she grew up.)
“We’re in Columbia.”
“Oh.” Pause. “Well, how long will the train take to get to Boonville?”
“Train?”
“Yeah, we’re on a train.”
“Um, no. We’re in your home.” (The home where she’s lived for 53 years.)
“Oh, no, we’re on a train.” She looked around the ample bedroom, complete with bookshelves, a desk, dressers, et cetera. “This is a train.”
“Um, no, this is your bedroom. In your home. In Columbia.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yup.”
“How are you sure?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I am somewhat dismayed when I see the religious responses to this kind of criticism/concern. Because so often it is not a rational “I know there’s no proof of God, but my faith helps me believe”, and instead is something akin to the outright disconnect I get when dealing with my MIL. It’s “Through the Looking Glass” time, where the usual words and understanding that we have of the world around us is no longer in any way related to reality.
Now, many people of deep faith are really decent people, with a good education and the ability to discuss things intelligently. And yet, when pushed, we so often see a believer who is capable of constructing a reality in which his personal saviour is triumphant over the “also rans” of science and other religions.
And that frightens me.
Oh, not so much that mankind is still stuck in magical thinking. I knew that. Have known it for many, many years. But rather that even the intelligent and well educated are capable of warping knowledge to fit their own particular religious perspective.
I will admit to being an elitist. I look at intelligence and education as our only possible hope of progress as a species. I see it as an antidote to ignorance, superstition, living in a fantasy where it is OK for one religious group to hate and kill another.
But when I witness the willing suspension of critical thinking – worse, the twisting of critical thinking to support irrationality – I feel like I am looking into a future in which the whole human race slides into an Alzheimer’s-like dementia, unable to determine where we are, let alone where we’re going.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
After my MIL got up from her nap this afternoon, had a snack, and went in to sit in the front room, we had a storm roll through. Nothing serious, but there was a bit of lightning and thunder. I went to check on her, and it was clear that she was anxious about something. I asked her if she was worried.
“I’m worried about the people.”
“Which people?”
“The people who I was talking with. Before.”
“Maybe that was a dream, MIL. You’ve been here all day.”
“Oh, no, I was up on a hill. Talking with people. They told me to come back here.”
(We live on the highest hill around, and she’d been no where.) “Well, maybe that was in your dream.”
“No, it was at a house, up on a hill over there,” She gestured randomly. “Will you take me up there? I want to make sure the people are OK.”
“I’m sure they’re fine.”
“But you have to take me to go see.”
And thereafter followed 40 minutes of discussion about not needing to take her ‘over there’ in the car so she could check to make sure the people of her dream were OK.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
And therein lies the danger of this – those who have slipped off into dementia are demanding that we all go along for the ride, and that we take them to their imaginary places to see imaginary people and do imaginary things. Why? Because they’re “sure”.
Jim Downey
(A slightly different version of this pertaining to specific people was posted at UTI. I decided that the general idea was applicable elsewhere, so decided to post it here.)
About 15 months ago, I wrote the following:
I sit, listening to the labored breathing coming from the next room. The end will come probably sometime this next week, likely as the result of a fever and while she is asleep. As deaths go, it’ll be one of the best possible, with minimal pain, discomfort, and fear.
*******
…because some short time ago, when it became clear that my mother-in-law was not going to recover from her latest medical problems, my wife and I decided to enter her into Hospice.
I knew of Hospice as an medical movement designed to make the last weeks or months of life as comfortable as possible, with a primary emphasis on palliative care. And this it is. But I’ve discovered that it is so much more.
Our “hospice team” includes a nurse who comes by as often as we need her. If that’s once a week, or twice a day, it doesn’t matter. We have on call personal care aides, a chaplain, a social worker (to help me and my wife with any of the issues surrounding the imminent death of a loved one), as often as we need them. If we need any medical equipment, from a hospital bed to oxygen, it’s arranged for. All prescribed meds for her condition are delivered to our door. Basically, anything we need or want which pertains to my mother-in-law’s health is provided. And it is all 100% covered by Medicare.
And it is a shame that you have to die to get this kind of medical care.
As is clear from my other posts, my MIL actually didn’t die. Yeah, she’s one of those rare people who “graduated” from Hospice care. Basically, we were too good at providing care for her, and she just wasn’t ready to go yet. So, after the initial 90 days of being enrolled, she was dropped from the Hospice program administered by one of the local hospitals. I’m actually still a bit upset with the way that transition was handled – my wife and I very much felt like we were abandoned. The extensive network of support we’d had just disappeared, leaving us unsure how to proceed (because while my MIL wasn’t ready to die, neither was she going to ‘get well’, and her care needs had increased significantly.)
Anyway, now we’ve noticed another downturn in her condition, and one of the significant markers of end-of-life has shown up: my MIL has dramatically increased how much time she spends sleeping, with no indication that she is suffering from any secondary illness or infection which would explain it. Her afternoon nap has gone from 90 minutes to typically three hours (or longer). And she now wants to nap in the morning after breakfast most mornings, for an hour and a half to two hours and a half. Noting this, my wife sent me this: Eldercare at Home: Chapter 28 – Dying at Home which contains the following:
The end of life cannot be predicted for any of us. We do not know when it will happen, who will be with us, how it will occur, or what we will feel. However, we do know some useful things about how many people die and this can help put your situation in perspective.
Many misconceptions exist about what can happen during the final days and weeks of a person’s life. One stubborn myth about dying is that the person will die from only one cause. In some cases this is true, but many older people do not die from one major event or for only one reason. Instead, they die because of many different factors that combine to slow down the body’s important systems, such as the heart and lungs. In a sense, the physical body slowly “gives up.”
*******
Certain physical signs warn us that the end of life is growing close. Most people with an advanced, chronic illness spend more time in bed or on a couch or chair. People with any type of advanced disease eat less food, and drink fewer liquids. They also sleep more, lose weight, and become much weaker.
Not every warning sign is physical, however. People may talk about “leaving” or “having to go.” Their dreams make them feel as if they want to “get going” or “go home.” Although this does not occur in every situation, this language and the emotion behind it are ways of talking about dying. The person also may ask to see special friends or relatives, and some haziness or confusion can occur as each day blends into another. Keeping track of the day of the week becomes less important, as do other daily living details.
My MIL has been doing more of this, though it is difficult to really say whether it is pertinent, since she suffers from dementia. Still, it is good to see it described, to be able to point to this document to help friends and family understand a bit better where we are (the excerpts I cite are just one small bit of that chapter – and the whole thing is worth looking at).
And it helps some with my ambivalent feelings towards Hospice, which, in spite of what happened to us, I know is a good program. I just wish I knew when to turn to them again – having the full support followed by being dropped like a hot potato isn’t something I think I can take emotionally again. Not at this point, anyway.
Jim Downey
Just a brief excerpt from an AP news item about care-giving for Alzheimer’s patients:
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. It afflicts one in eight people 65 and older, and nearly one in two people over 85.
Worse, as the population ages, Alzheimer’s is steadily rising. Sixteen million are forecast to have the mind-destroying illness by 2050, not counting other forms of dementia.
Those figures are cited repeatedly in the push for more research into better treatments. But a frightening parallel goes largely undiscussed: As Alzheimer’s skyrockets, who will care for all these people?
And will the long-term stress of that care set up an entire population — once-healthy spouses and children — to suffer years of illness, even early death?
“I don’t think society and policymakers have fully grasped the future magnitude of what we’re up against, and how massive an operation we have to begin … to deal with this,” says Dr. Richard Suzman of the National Institute on Aging.
Go read the whole thing. It’ll break your heart, but you need to know this stuff – chances are your family will have to deal with one of its members who has some form of senile dementia, and very few people are ready for it when it happens. Trust me on this.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 