From: David Buchanan (DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org)
Date: Sun Dec 15 2002 - 23:59:54 GMT
Sam, Wim and all:
Wim said:
So for those on the brink of participating in the intellectual level,
(religious) rituals point to intellectual truths and beyond, to Dynamic
Quality itself.
DMB says:
I think there are two distinct ideas in what you say, but you've fused them.
The first one, that ritualistic religion serves socially pattern-dominated
people to see DQ.
"Phaedrus saw nothing wrong with this ritualistic religion as long as the
rituals are seen as merely a static portrayal Dynamic Quality, a sign-post
which allows socially pattern-dominated people to see Dynamic Quality. The
danger has always been that the ritutals, the static patterns, are mistaken
for what they merely represent and are allowed to destroy the Dynamic
Quality they were originally intended to preserve." (chapter 30)
DMB continues:
The other is that Intellectual truths are derived from social level rituals
and so come after them.
'These rituals may be the connecting link between the social and
intellectual levels of evolution. One can imagine primitive song-rituals and
dance-rituals associated with certain cosmology stories, myths, which
generated the first primitive religions. From these the first intellectual
truths could have been derived. If ritual always comes first and
intellectual principles always come later, then ritual cannot always be a
decadent corruption of intellect. Their sequence in history suggests that
principles emerge from ritual, not the other way around. That is, we don't
perform religious rituals because we believe in God. We believe in God
because we perform religious rituals.' (chapter 30)
DMB concludes:
I think its important to make a distinction. Social level ritualistic
religions don't "point to intellectual truths". These static religious forms
are intended to portray DQ, not other static forms. They are not designed to
move a person from the social level to the intellectual level. That's a job
for the Universities. They are symbolic expressions of DQ that move the
soul, but not intellect.
The second idea, that rituals preceed intellect, is true in a historic and
developmental sense. It is a reassertion of his "mythos over logos" idea.
And it is even true that this applies to each of us personally in the
overall development in our lives, but its simply not the function of
ritualistic religion enhance our cognitive development toward the intellect.
Thanks.
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