X-Message-Number: 14564
From: 
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 12:35:26 EDT
Subject: ideologies and cryonics

Iggy Dybal writes:

>I am now very intrigued by rather a widespread American beliefs
>in God and living in Kansas ( :-), treatment of evolution in schools.
>Science seems not to be at the forefront of the society in this country and
>sometimes I am amazed that this society progressed so well with these ideas,
>but again there's gotta be a belief in something, right?

As to the last--no, there doesn't have to be belief in anything (any religion 
or ideology). Some people, at least, can handle uncertainty without 
sociopathy. 

But you can't draw hasty conclusions about religion/ideology and their 
supposed effects on actions. Some strict adherents of all religions are also 
productive scientists. Believing Christians and Jews apparently (based on our 
experience) are better prospects than believing Communists, although not as 
good prospects as secularists. And the religiosity of Americans is highly 
over-estimated, being mostly in name only. In France there are fewer of the 
nominally religious, yet traditions based on religion are stronger there. 

>Science seems not to be at the forefront of the society in this country

Science is not at the forefront in ANY country, in the minds of average 
people, but in this country (more than elsewhere) we have tolerance of 
diversity and enterprise. 

The thing to do, as always, is play to our strengths--emphasize commonalities 
and minimize conflicts. 

Robert Ettinger
Cryonics Institute
Immortalist Society
http://www.cryonics.org

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