Pantheism

Originally posted by karoly aczel
I don't know if this was a part of Pantheism's promoters' ideas but ...

Dont you think that once this movement has achieved it's ends it should dissolve?

i have enjoyed this thread, I've only had limited net use of late and this is one of the few threads I've read through.

This is such a great, open-ended idea, that potentially unites scientist ...[text shortened]... There is no one to consult but yourself.

Make sure your money is good money 😉

It may be that religions are reflections of their times. The types of religions people create are largely molded by their culture and habitat. If pantheism were to become a prominent religion, and if it were to be instrumental in setting mankind on a sustainable path, then it may in time be superseded by other religions (or philosophies) more appropriate to future concerns. But that is beyond my ability to predict.

I dispute that humans are the most important animal (either terrestrial or marine) on the planet. We clearly have the most impact, but that is not the same as being most important. Most animals fill a certain niche in their biosphere. They provide a certain function that keeps that system circulating. Humans bring absolutely nothing to the table. If they were to become extinct tomorrow, no biosphere on the planet would miss them at all. They would all keep functioning perfectly well (or better) without humans. In that sense, earthworms are far more important than humans.

Our well being, though, is directly dependent on the well being of our ecosystems. The view that humans are the most important animal is incredibly shortsighted. Causing species extinction due to short term human concerns is only going to have greater consequences down the road. A little humility and the recognition of the general equality of importance of species in the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem is the best strategy in propagating our own continued existence.

Your generally agree with your view on the benefit of vegetarian diets, although I don't think it is necessary that everyone become vegetarians. Certainly we could reduce our meat consumption, particularly beef. It takes approximately 7 lbs. of grain to produce 1 lb. of beef. Pork is 4 to 1, while chicken is 2 to 1.

We currently have everything that we need to build a sustainable future. It's not a matter of waiting for technology to catch up, but, rather, a matter of finding the political will to alter the systems that are leading us to ruin...a ruin that we can clearly see rushing toward us. If human history is any gauge, then our prospects of doing so would appear to be slim. It seems that history is replete with societies that developed positive feedback loops that locked them into certain patterns of behavior that eventually doomed them. Ours may end up being the most glaring example because we are fully aware that it's happening.

Originally posted by rwingett
It may be that religions are reflections of their times. The types of religions people create are largely molded by their culture and habitat. If pantheism were to become a prominent religion, and if it were to be instrumental in setting mankind on a sustainable path, then it may in time be superseded by other religions (or philosophies) more appropriate to ...[text shortened]... urs may end up being the most glaring example because we are fully aware that it's happening.

Well, I like to think that humans are imporatn and not just now , but well into the future. If, for nothing else, to boost their own egos and to turn around and say "I can make a difference" or something like that.

I believe there is more to be discovered about what it means to be human. I beleive that the term "human" will change a lot in the upcoming decades.

I agree the future is harder to predict than the recent past, but without the basis for a sustainable future, which is what I see being outlined in the OP, there can be no new disoveries about the human brain and it's potential,etc.
I do not believe we will live in some post-apocalyptic ,hellish future, but that we will hopefully co-create a future that is open to never-ending learning and a ceratin unity and harmony in all actions of men. What forms this may take , I don't know.
But I do believe the movies about this stuff are largely fear-mongering crap designed by the baddies to keep us repressed as possible.

Let's get real people and open our eyes and really look around. I mean really look around.