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Gail Finke's avatar

"In philosophy this separation between a body and its essence is referred to as Cartesian Dualism or Mind-Body Dualism... This isn’t something that only religious people believe." It is the current default belief of the West, no matter what religion a person holds, but is not per se a "religious belief" at all. It is a philosophical one.

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Khaled's avatar

Totally agree. I don't even think it's limited to the West, it seems like something that transcends cultural contexts. Most philosophers of consciousness are dualists. Even materialists like me can't help but feel that split between the self and the body as we go through life.

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Yassine Meskhout's avatar

This is crazy well-written

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Sheluyang Peng's avatar

Good post, just one quibble: Christianity grew pre-Constantine by rejecting syncretism and demanding that, instead of Jesus being worshipped as part of pantheon of gods, that he was the one true God. The Roman pagans hated Christians for it, hence all the persecution. It was only until after Constantine that syncretism took off.

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Khaled's avatar

Thank you. Is there a different analogy that would work to make the same point. How new ideas need to mimic, or borrow from, existing ones to gain purchase in society.

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