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home > writing
philosophy |
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phd dissertation |
"... because having no knowledge of the existence
or nonexistence of a supernatural, but a theory for the
motivation for its human mental creation, I argue that
entities such as conscious supernatural beings, religion,
religiosity and the shape of the individual and societal
emotional personality, stem from mental and social mechanisms
alone. In other words, were there no existent supernatural,
humankind would have the drive and capacity to invent
it." |
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voodoo, experience and reflection |
"... I never had, nor currently, have any belief
in a metaphysical power of Voodoo. But, during the moments
prior to my first Voodoo exorcism in the dark and musty
dirt-floor basement of an houngan, any fears I may have
harbored subconsciously, and all those pesky, but quite
real fears of the unknown - including what was about to
happen to me -came to a head. And I was afraid... " |
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civil religion in aggieland |
" ... any group with a common set of beliefs
is religious, not on a lower level or scale, but simply
a different one. It is most often the case that what could
be regarded a lower level religion such as Aggie-ism or
Americanism arguably provides far more actual meaning
and fervor in an individual than even what would constitute
a higher level, or conventional religion." |
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society as a narcissistic organism |
" ... most, if not all social psychologists
see society as an organism. ... The social organism is
starving for real fulfillment, but instead is driven to
draw a sense of fulfillment by engaging itself in things
from the outstide. America is an other-directed narcissistic
society." |
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self deception |
" ... the nature of religions that contain
an idea of an after-life is that they promote a self-deception.
And ... the self-deception of life after death is one
that takes effort to maintain." |
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texas haikus
mystique
"Kansas, Iowa, New Hampshire
Boring, unfamous
There is no likeness in belt-buckle" |
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University
Newspaper Columns
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