<<By the way, Derek, one of the products of modernity is disenchantment>>
Ive thought about this, mostly in connection with Nietzsche's infamous "God is dead, and we have killed him." Most readers totally miss the point of that statement. Modern man has killed the traditional religious engine of meaningfulness in the form of God with science. The result is that Western man hangs over an abyss, unable to look at the implications of what he has wrought, namely being cast into a cold, meaningless Universe that is neither good nor evil, but simply IS. As you said, people can't bear the thought of being subject to a capricious universe, and attempt to force meaning and causative forces upon the world, just like their Cro Magnon ancestors invented gods and spirits to fill the void. When one can't explain misfortune in terms of a displeased God, we invent conspirators to fill his shoes! |
