I'm sure I read somewhere that the Christian concept of God had a lot to do
with it, since it includes the concept of free agency of the individual: a
freedom for self-achievement which is itself a form of worship. But then,
the Chinese invented gunpowder, etc. without Christianity. Equally, the
civilizations of the Roman and Greek empires were founded before Christianity.
It strikes me that the rapid pace of Western development must have had a
certain spark, and that once it started it snowballed (from spark to
snowball, hmmm). So why didn't that spark occur in Africa, or amongst
tribes in Indonesia, etc.
I want to try to get a grasp on this issue, because it seems so similar to
the one we face now, as Extropians. What is it that sparks us to desire
technological progression, whilst others are happy with the status quo, or
fearful of development?
Sarah
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
visit http://www.seraph.org for
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| c o n t e m p o r a r y r e n a i s s a n c e f u t u r e s |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| D a r k S e r a p h i m |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| S a r a h M a r r' s p e r s o n a l w e b p a g e s |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
email: sarah.marr@dial.pipex.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------