DOCSLIB.ORG

7Laws Magical Thinking

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
7Laws Magical Thinking 01 02 03 the 04 05 LAWS 06 07 of 08 7 09 MAGICAL 10 11 12 THINKING 13 14 How Irrationality Makes Us 15 Happy, Healthy, and Sane 16 17 18 19 20 MATTHEW HUTSON 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 N33 L34 A Oneworld Book First published in Great Britain and the Commonwealth by Oneworld Publications 2012 Published by arrangement with Hudson Street Press, For my teachers – past, present, and future a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc This edition published by Oneworld Publications 2013 Copyright © Matthew Hutson 2012 All rights reserved The moral right of Matthew Hutson to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-85168-957-6 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-78074-109-3 Cover design by Dan Mogford Printed and bound by Nørhaven A/S Denmark Oneworld Publications 10 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3SR For my teachers – past, present, and future 01 02 01 03 Contents 02 04 03 05 04 06 05 07 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 06 08 07 09 Matthew Hutson is a science writer and the former news editor of the 08 10 magazine Psychology Today. His work has appeared in the New York Times 09 11 Magazine, Wired, Scientific American Mind, Discover, and many others. 10 12 He is an atheist and magical thinker. 11 13 12 14 13 Introduction: We’re All Believers 1 15 14 16 1 Objects Carry Essences: ‘Cooties’, Contagion, and 15 17 Historicity 11 16 18 17 Symbols Have Power: Spells, Ceremonies, and the 19 2 18 20 Law of Similarity 37 19 21 20 Actions Have Distant Consequences: Using 22 3 21 Superstition to Make Luck Work for You 61 23 22 24 23 4 The Mind Knows No Bounds: Psychokinesis, ESP, 25 24 and Transcendence 93 26 25 27 5 The Soul Lives On: Death Is Not the End of Us 125 26 28 27 29 6 The World Is Alive: Animals, Objects, and Gods Are 28 30 People, Too 163 29 31 30 Everything Happens for a Reason: You’ve Got a Date 32 7 31 with Destiny 195 32 33N N33 34L L34 01 02 01 03 Contents 02 04 03 05 04 06 05 07 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 06 08 07 09 Matthew Hutson is a science writer and the former news editor of the 08 10 magazine Psychology Today. His work has appeared in the New York Times 09 11 Magazine, Wired, Scientific American Mind, Discover, and many others. 10 12 He is an atheist and magical thinker. 11 13 12 14 13 Introduction: We’re All Believers 1 15 14 16 1 Objects Carry Essences: ‘Cooties’, Contagion, and 15 17 Historicity 11 16 18 17 Symbols Have Power: Spells, Ceremonies, and the 19 2 18 20 Law of Similarity 37 19 21 20 Actions Have Distant Consequences: Using 22 3 21 Superstition to Make Luck Work for You 61 23 22 24 23 4 The Mind Knows No Bounds: Psychokinesis, ESP, 25 24 and Transcendence 93 26 25 27 5 The Soul Lives On: Death Is Not the End of Us 125 26 28 27 29 6 The World Is Alive: Animals, Objects, and Gods Are 28 30 People, Too 163 29 31 30 Everything Happens for a Reason: You’ve Got a Date 32 7 31 with Destiny 195 32 33N N33 34L L34 viii Contents 01 Epilogue: The World Is Sacred: A Stab at a Secular 01 02 Spirituality 239 02 03 03 04 Acknowledgements 251 04 05 05 Notes 253 06 Introduction 06 07 07 Further Reading and Selected Bibliography 283 We’re All Believers 08 08 09 Index 287 09 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 n 2008, the leaders of a powerful clan presided over a ceremony on 15 16 Ithe grounds of their new house of worship. The clan’s warriors, 16 17 known for their fickleness and inconsistency – their success against 17 18 other tribes depending to a large degree on luck – worried that an 18 19 adversary had placed a curse on their home turf. Someone had hidden 19 20 a significant artefact – a symbol of their sworn enemy – under the 20 21 premises. The media, typically dismissive of voodoo, had a field day 21 22 with this little rite. As journalists looked on, two men friendly to the 22 23 warriors pulled the offending relic from the ground and raised it high. 23 24 Flashbulbs illuminated a ragged piece of cloth clearly reading the num- 24 25 ber 34 and the name Ortiz. The new Yankee Stadium had been cleansed. 25 26 Why should an enlightened society adhering to the rigours of 26 27 science care so much about a shirt buried in concrete? And why would 27 28 the president of the New York Yankees baseball team threaten the 28 29 offender with legal action and demand recompense for the cost of 29 30 replacing the concrete? The jersey – carrying the number and name of 30 31 David Ortiz, the top home-run hitter for the rival Boston Red Sox – 31 32 itself posed no structural threat to the stadium. So how could that 32 33N worker ‘force’ the Yankees to dig it up? Because magical powers were N33 34L attributed to that jersey. (We’ll revisit Yankee Stadium in chapter 2.) L34 viii Contents 01 Epilogue: The World Is Sacred: A Stab at a Secular 01 02 Spirituality 239 02 03 03 04 Acknowledgements 251 04 05 05 Notes 253 06 Introduction 06 07 07 Further Reading and Selected Bibliography 283 We’re All Believers 08 08 09 Index 287 09 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 n 2008, the leaders of a powerful clan presided over a ceremony on 15 16 Ithe grounds of their new house of worship. The clan’s warriors, 16 17 known for their fickleness and inconsistency – their success against 17 18 other tribes depending to a large degree on luck – worried that an 18 19 adversary had placed a curse on their home turf. Someone had hidden 19 20 a significant artefact – a symbol of their sworn enemy – under the 20 21 premises. The media, typically dismissive of voodoo, had a field day 21 22 with this little rite. As journalists looked on, two men friendly to the 22 23 warriors pulled the offending relic from the ground and raised it high. 23 24 Flashbulbs illuminated a ragged piece of cloth clearly reading the num- 24 25 ber 34 and the name Ortiz. The new Yankee Stadium had been cleansed. 25 26 Why should an enlightened society adhering to the rigours of 26 27 science care so much about a shirt buried in concrete? And why would 27 28 the president of the New York Yankees baseball team threaten the 28 29 offender with legal action and demand recompense for the cost of 29 30 replacing the concrete? The jersey – carrying the number and name of 30 31 David Ortiz, the top home-run hitter for the rival Boston Red Sox – 31 32 itself posed no structural threat to the stadium. So how could that 32 33N worker ‘force’ the Yankees to dig it up? Because magical powers were N33 34L attributed to that jersey. (We’ll revisit Yankee Stadium in chapter 2.) L34 2 The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking Introduction 3 01 Most of the world is religious, and millions more are openly super- universe, first with my father and then on my own, and saw that the 01 02 stitious, spiritual, or credulous of the paranormal. But in this book I Big Questions could be answered, or at least approached, by science. 02 03 argue that we all believe in magic – luck, mind over matter, destiny, God made less and less sense. 03 04 jinxes, life after death, evil, and heavenly helpers – even when we are I found more books on the big bang and the fabric of space-time 04 05 sure we don’t. and abandoned my belief in a personal creator – but not my obsession 05 06 Magical thinking can be quite banal. We find occult meaning with him. I became a strident young atheist, eager to debate anyone who 06 07 in the world all around us, every day. Do you own any sentimental stooped to have faith in an invisible guide. In the copy of Why I Am Not 07 08 objects – say, a wedding ring, a family heirloom, or an autographed a Christian by the philosopher Bertrand Russell that I purchased for 08 09 football shirt? Objects you’d value more than an identical duplicate? pleasure-reading when I was about twelve, I underlined passages such as, 09 10 That’s magical thinking. Do you feel that what goes around comes ‘It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in 10 11 around, through some universal principle of fairness? That’s magical religion are fear, conceit, and hatred’. I struggled to understand human- 11 12 thinking. Do you shout at your laptop when it erases your files? Magi- ity’s unshakeable hold on magical beliefs – its stock in miracles, gods, a 12 13 cal thinking. Do you hope to leave a legacy after you die? Magical soul – against all reason. 13 14 thinking. Do you believe that certain events were meant to happen? That’s just it: faith is unreasonable, an emotional reaction.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PROCEEDINGS of the 120TH NATIONAL CONVENTION of the VETERANS of FOREIGN WARS of the UNITED STATES
    116th Congress, 2d Session House Document 116–165 PROCEEDINGS of the 120TH NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES (SUMMARY OF MINUTES) Orlando, Florida ::: July 20 – 24, 2019 116th Congress, 2d Session – – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 116–165 THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 120TH NATIONAL CON- VENTION OF THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES COMMUNICATION FROM THE ADJUTANT GENERAL, THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES TRANSMITTING THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 120TH NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES, HELD IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA: JULY 20–24, 2019, PURSUANT TO 44 U.S.C. 1332; (PUBLIC LAW 90–620 (AS AMENDED BY PUBLIC LAW 105–225, SEC. 3); (112 STAT. 1498) NOVEMBER 12, 2020.—Referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 40–535 WASHINGTON : 2020 U.S. CODE, TITLE 44, SECTION 1332 NATIONAL ENCAMPMENTS OF VETERANS’ ORGANIZATIONS; PROCEEDINGS PRINTED ANNUALLY FOR CONGRESS The proceedings of the national encampments of the United Spanish War Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, the American Legion, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Veterans of World War I of the United States, Incorporated, the Disabled American Veterans, and the AMVETS (American Veterans of World War II), respectively, shall be printed annually, with accompanying illustrations, as separate House documents of the session of the Congress to which they may be submitted. [Approved October 2, 1968.] ii LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI September, 2020 Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Speaker U.
    [Show full text]
  • View School Schedule
    Field Trip Schedule The Legend of Sarila October 25 - November 1 Plus Extended Festival Dates Facets Children’s Programs presents the Facets.org/kids Smart Films, Smart Kids JOIN US FOR OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY and give your classroom a boost with a diverse selection of curriculum-supported films from every corner of the globe that will encourage your students to explore world cultures, language studies, creative arts, social studies, history, literature and more. Each year, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival welcomes over 23,000 Chicago-area children, adults, and educators with over 100 filmmakers, media professionals, and celebrities leading pre- and post-screening discussions and interactive workshops to help make media an enriching and participatory experience for Chicago-area kids. A FIELD TRIP TO THE FEST! It’s easy: The grade recommendations will help you select the best screenings for your students, and the films are scheduled and screened at times and locations all around the Chicagoland area. For additional screening options, we offer Extended Festival dates so you can easily plan a field trip that best fits your schedule during the average school day. Educator Resources: A free comprehensive curriculum with learning and assessment plans aligned with Common Core Standards is provided to all groups. Unique Access: Pre- and post- screening discussions with the filmmakers themselves, led by trained media education professionals, dig deeper into the film’s themes, storytelling, and production. Just one film program gives you and your students weeks of exciting and thought-provoking material for discussion, writing assignments, and follow-up exercises. We can’t wait to see you and your students at this year’s Fest! Like a Dream Educator Resources COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM A free comprehensive curriculum with learning assessment plans aligned with Common Core Standards is provided electronically to all groups prior to your screening date.
    [Show full text]
  • Paranormal, Superstitious, Magical, and Religious Beliefs
    Paranormal, superstitious, magical, and religious beliefs Kia Aarnio Department of Psychology University of Helsinki, Finland Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Helsinki in Auditorium XII, Fabianinkatu 33, on the 19th of October, 2007, at 12 o’clock UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI Department of Psychology Studies 44: 2007 2 Supervisor Marjaana Lindeman, PhD Department of Psychology University of Helsinki Finland Reviewers Professor Stuart Vyse Department of Psychology Connecticut College USA Timo Kaitaro, PhD Department of Law University of Joensuu Finland Opponent Professor Pekka Niemi Department of Psychology University of Turku Finland ISSN 0781-8254 ISBN 978-952-10-4201-0 (pbk.) ISBN 978-952-10-4202-7 (PDF) http://www.ethesis.helsinki.fi Helsinki University Printing House Helsinki 2007 3 CONTENTS ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................... 6 TIIVISTELMÄ ....................................................................................................................... 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................................... 8 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS ................................................................................ 10 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 11 1.1. Defining paranormal beliefs 12 1.1.1.
    [Show full text]
  • LOK SABHA DEBATES (English Version)
    Thursday, May 8, 1997 Eleventh Series, Vol. XIV No. 6 Vaisakha 18, 1919 (Saka) LOK SABHA DEBATES (English Version) Fourth Session (Part-IV) (Eleventh Lok Sabha) ir.ufr4*B* (Vol. XIV contains No. 1 to 12) l o k sa b h a secretariat NEW DELHI I’ rn c Rs >0 00 EDITORIAL BOARD Shri S. Gopalan Secretary General Lok Sabha Shri Surendra Mishra Additional Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat Shri P.C. Bhatt Chief Editor Lok Sabha Secretariat Shri Y.K.. Abrol Senior Editor Shri S.C. Kala Assistant Editor [Original English Proceedings included in English Version and Original Hindi Proceedings included in Hindi Version will be treated as authoritative and not the translation thereof.] „ b . »• KB (ftb’ • • • M o d FOC Col./line or. vallabh BhaiKathiria vailabha Bhai Kathiria (i)/M Shri N .S .VChitthan . Sr i N.S-V. 'n.tNit ( i i ) /'/ Dr. Ran Krishna Kusnaria nc. Ran Krv.<» .fhnaria 5/14 Shri Ran V ilas Pa swan Shri R® Villa* Pa^ai 8/14 (fioni below) Shri Datta Meghe Shri Datta Maghe 10/10 (Irotr below) Shrimati Krishna Bose Shrimati K irsh n a Bose 103/It> Shri Sunder La i Patva Shri Sunder Patva 235/19 Sh ri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Shri Atal Bihari Vajpa« 248/28 Shri Mchaiwaa Ali ^ T o t Shri Hdhsmnad Ali hohraaf Fatmi 2 5 3 /1 .1 4 F atm i 2 5 4 /8 Shri aikde® P m* w 1 Shri Sukhaev Pasnai 378/24 3BO/3 CONTENTS [Eleventh Series, Vol. XIV, Fourth Session (Part-IV) 1997/1919 (Saka] No.
    [Show full text]
  • Pediculosis (Lice, Head Lice, Body Lice, Pubic Lice, Cooties, Crabs) Fact Sheet
    New York State Department of Health Pediculosis (lice, head lice, body lice, pubic lice, cooties, crabs) Last Reviewed: November 2006 What is pediculosis? Pediculosis is an infestation of the hairy parts of the body or clothing with the eggs, larvae or adults of lice. The crawling stages of this insect feed on human blood, which can result in severe itching. Head lice are usually located on the scalp, crab lice in the pubic area and body lice along seams of clothing. Body lice travel to the skin to feed and return back to the clothing. Who gets pediculosis? Anyone may become louse infested under suitable conditions of exposure. Pediculosis is easily transmitted from person to person during direct contact. Head lice infestations are frequently found in school settings or institutions. Crab lice infestations can be found among sexually active individuals. Body lice infestation can be found in people living in crowded, unsanitary conditions where clothing is infrequently changed or laundered. How is pediculosis spread? For both head lice and body lice, transmission can occur during direct contact with an infested individual. Sharing of clothing and combs or brushes may also result in transmission of these insects. While other means are possible, crab lice are most often transmitted through sexual contact. What are the symptoms of pediculosis? Usually, the first indication of an infestation is the itching or scratching in the area of the body where the lice feed. Scratching at the back of the head or around the ears should lead to an examination for head louse eggs (nits) on the hair.
    [Show full text]
  • Veterans We Are One
    VETERANS WE ARE ONE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018 Issue 1 1st Edition Official Newsletter of the VFW Philip Billard Post #1650 3110 SW Huntoon St, Topeka, KS 66604 OFFICE HOURS: Monday-Friday 09:30—12:00 noon; 1:00—3:30 p.m. Closed all holidays. Phone: 785-235-9073 Fax: 785-235-9075 Email: [email protected] Website: www.vfw1650.org Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/VFWPhilipBillardPost1650 FROM THE COMMANDER OF VFW POST 1650 : SHANNON GOLDEN. With the holiday season coming to a close, I look forward to the upcoming events and the new calendar year. Our membership is always out in the community doing great things for veterans, and being a general positive light for all of our brothers and sisters in arms. During the 2017 holiday season, we hosted our first ever Thanksgiving meal for Veterans in the community that may not have family to spend it with. The idea was thought up and executed by our bar manager, Kourtenay Main, and was a great time and I hope we can continue to host this each and every year. Christmas is a time to spend with family and enjoy the good things in life. The post was closed Christmas day to allow our family to spend time with their families. Even as Christmas closed in, our membership still worked hard to ensure that our Veterans were taken care of. I am so proud of the people that make post 1650 what it. Every time I think that there isn’t anything more we can do, the membership of post 1650 proves me wrong.
    [Show full text]
  • Magical Thinking: Outcome Bias Affects Children’S Evaluation of Testimony
    Magical Thinking: Outcome Bias Affects Children’s Evaluation of Testimony Iris Oved Gail Heyman David Barner ([email protected]) ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Department of Psychology, 9500 Gilman Drive San Diego, CA 92093 USA Abstract informants based on factors like their age (Jaswal & Neely, 2006; VanderBorght, & Jaswal, 2009), and their previous In a series of three experiments we examined how preschool children assess testimony in relation to the relative desirability of history of accuracy (Birch, Vauthier, & Bloom, 2008; the outcome for themselves and for the individual providing the Corriveau & Harris, 2009; Jaswal & Neely, 2006), and that testimony. The first two experiments reveal evidence for an they sometimes weigh the testimony over their own direct outcome bias: children are more likely to believe an extraordinary perceptual experience (Jaswal, 2010). claim when they have little to lose in doing so (Exp.1), and when There are also other factors that influence how humans they stand to gain if the claim is true (Exp. 2). The final evaluate testimony when forming beliefs. In some cases, experiment (Exp. 3) showed that children are less likely to believe beliefs that are fundamental to how we understand the world extraordinary claims when the person making the claim has are formed in direct contravention with expert testimony ulterior motives (e.g., stands to potentially gain from the child’s and despite considerable physical evidence to the contrary belief). These data show that children’s beliefs acquired from testimony are subject to outcome bias, and that children are (e.g., climate change, evolution). In these cases many claims capable of exercising skepticism when the source of testimony is are assessed on the basis of prior convictions, in conformity likely to have ulterior motives.
    [Show full text]
  • MAY 2015 FREE “Fight for Our Vets!”
    A non-profit official publication the Department of the Pacific Areas, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Volume XVIII – Number 10 MAY 2015 FREE “Fight for our Vets!” Typhoon / Around the Pacific Table of Contents 2014-2015 Department of Pacific Areas Convention Section: Page: and Department Officer’s Comments 2 Grand of Pacific Areas Scratch Commander 2 Senior Vice Commander 3 14-18 June 2015 Angeles City, Philippines Junior Vice Commander 6 Reservation deadline 01 June 2015 Junior Past Department Commander 7 Chief of Staff 7 http://vfwdeptpacific.org/CONVENTION/ Adjutant 8 Quartermaster 8 Judge Advocate 11 Department Committee Reports 13 Americanism Chairman 13 Clark Cemetery Committee Chairman 14 Convention Chairman 16 Convention Book Chairman 16 Legislative Committee Chairman 17 Legacy Life Membership Chairman 18 Life Membership Chairman 19 National Home for Children Chairman 20 The VFW Department of Pacific Areas and Grand of Pacific Areas POW-MIA Chairman 22 Council of Administration will be held at the Oasis Hotel, Angeles City, Public Servant Award Chairman 24 Philippines. VOD / PP / Teachers Award Chairman 25 Safety Chairman 26 Assistant Department Service Officer 28 Hope to see you there! Editor 28 Around the Pacific - Community Report 29 --------------------------------------------------------------- VFW Pacific Areas General Announcements 42 Cootie Corner Announcements 45 Pacific Areas Photo of the Edition 46 Pacific Areas Joke of the Edition 47 Letters of Intent 47 49th Convention Rules of Order 51 VFW Department of Pacific Areas Page 1 Volume XVIII - Number 10 TYPHOON / AROUND THE PACIFIC May 2015 DDeeppaarrttmmeenntt OOffffiicceerr’’ss CCoommmmeennttss From the Commander: Warmest regards to all my exceptional comrades within the Department of Pacific Areas.
    [Show full text]
  • Magical Thinking and Religious Thinking
    E-Theologos, Vol. 3, No. 2 DOI 10.2478/v10154-012-0017-6 Magical Thinking and Religious Thinking Marcin Cholewa - Marek Gilski The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków Although one would think that the development of science and technology promotes the elimination of magical practices and magical thinking, yet observation of contemporary culture seems to contradict this. Symptoms of magical approach to reality are becoming more noticeable: well-stocked esoteric bookshops, TV channels devoted to the subject in question, fortune-tellers' offices, authors writing about the return of magic 1. The development of science and technology and at the same time the return to the practice of magic and magical thinking is only a seeming paradox. Goethe once aptly wrote that aiming toward magic is the result of a specific contact of the human mind with science and technology. It is about an encounter that leads to disappointment, helplessness emerging from improperly set cognitive goals. In this way the belief is created that human reason is helpless, that it has been defeated, despite being able to develop and popularise science and technology. This attitude was adopted by Doctor Faust 2: Ah! Now I’ve done Philosophy, I’ve finished Law and Medicine, And sadly even Theology: Taken fierce pains, from end to end. Now here I am, a fool for sure! No wiser than I was before: [...] And see that we can know - nothing! It almost sets my heart burning. 1 M. INTROVIGNE, Powrót magii , Kraków 2005. 2 See J. Goethe, Faust , translation Poetryintranslation . January 7 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • The Voldemort Effect Magic Words & Taboo Talk by Rev
    The Voldemort Effect Magic Words & Taboo Talk By Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof October 8, 2017 In one of Sigmund Freud’s signature works, Totem and Taboo, the founder of psychoanalysis theorizes that religion began with “totemism,” the worship of animals and artifacts serving as deified surrogate father figures. He theorized this was so based upon Darwin’s “primal horde” hypothesis that, like other apes, human society originated in small hordes that, “stood under the rule of an older male, who governed by brute force, appropriated all the females, and belaboured or killed all the young males, including his own sons.”1 Eventually some of these sons united to overthrow and kill their domineering patriarch and, for a period, established more egalitarian societies that even gave rise to instances of matriarchy. But as the guilt of their patricidal act began to overwhelm them, they adopted animals, at first, and later erected totems to replace their dead fathers. “The surrogate for the father was perhaps used in the attempt to assuage the burning sense of guilt,” Freud says, “and to bring about a kind of reconciliation with the father.”2 So, despite their initial attempts to destroy patriarchy and develop communities based more on cooperation and equality, Freud says after, “totemism had been established there began a development which may be described as a slow ‘return of the repressed.’”3 From there, the physical totems evolved into hero worship, and the subsequent deification of humans, then into the “idea of a Highest being.”4 “The next step,” according to Freud, “to worship only one god, was taken hesitantly, and at long last the decision was made to concede all power to one God only and not to suffer any other gods beside him.
    [Show full text]
  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing Judy Blume
    0 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing Judy Blume 1 For Larry, who is a combination of Peter and Fudge, and for Willie Mae, who told me about Dribble 2 Contents 1 The Big Winner 2 Mr. and Mrs. Juicy-O 3 The Family Dog 4 My Brother the Bird 5 The Birthday Bash 6 Fang Hits Town 7 The Flying Train Committee 8 The TV Star 9 Just Another Rainy Day 10 Dribble! 3 1 The Big Winner I won Dribble at Jimmy Fargo's birthday party. All the other guys got to take home goldfish in little plastic bags. I won him because I guessed there were three hundred and forty-eight jelly beans in Mrs. Fargo's jar. Really, there were four hundred and twenty-three, she told us later. Still, my guess was closest. "Peter Warren Hatcher is the big winner!" Mrs. Fargo announced. At first I felt bad that I didn't get a goldfish too. Then Jimmy handed me a glass bowl. Inside there was some water and three rocks. A tiny green turtle was sleeping on the biggest rock. All the other guys looked at their goldfish. I knew what they were thinking. They wished they could have tiny green turtles too. I named my turtle Dribble while I was walking home from Jimmy's party. I live at 25 West 68th Street. It's an old apartment building. But it's got one of the best elevators in New York City. There are mirrors all around. You can see yourself from every angle.
    [Show full text]
  • Magical Thinking
    applyparastyle "!g//caption/p[1]" parastyle "FigCapt" applyparastyle "!g" parastyle "Figure" MAGICAL THINKING Andrew M. Bailey According to theists, God is an immaterial thinking being. The main question of this article is whether theism supports the view that we too are immaterial thinking beings. I shall argue in the negative. Along the way, I will also explore some implications in the philosophy of mind following from the observation that, on theism, God’s mentality is in a certain respect magical. “God is a Spirit, in!nite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” – Westminster Shorter Catechism “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” – Grand Master Yoda 1. Introduction The epigraphs above express two theses I want to work through in this arti- cle—roughly, theism and dualism. What I want to know is this: does the "rst support the second? Can we reason from theism to dualism? Beyond any intrinsic interest, here are two reasons to care about these questions. First: while the conjunction of theism and dualism is common enough, a growing cadre of philosophers af!rm theism and deny dualism.1 If there is a path from theism to dualism, this is a mistake, perhaps even a grave one. I hope, then, to identify and assess some arguments from theism to dualism. I shall focus especially on arguments from the simplicity of dualism, given theism, and the apparent impossibility of wholly material thinking beings. Second, a path from theism to dualism would uncover evidence to be accounted for in any "nal assessment of theism.
    [Show full text]