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RE: Innocent "Devils" and the Internal Capacity of Humanity to Commit Atrocity

in #philosophy5 years ago

Totally!!!

Something similar happened in ancient China...

So the earliest records we have show their culture explicitly believed that illness was ‘caused’ by demons and malevolent natural forces.

Then there was a cultural shift around maybe the 12th Century BCE (I may be sketchy with the dates... some time in the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty) where they began to perceive illness as the consequences of not appeasing the ancestor spirits.

Even though us enlightened moderns might scoff at both, the shift is significant.

In “demonic medicine” there is nothing that can be done because demons hate humans.

In “ancestor medicine” the responsibility lies in the hands of the individual, albeit it’s because the individual hadn’t performed the appropriate ceremonies. The thinking extended to the idea that the illness could be prevented if you abused by certain rituals.

The next step was obvious: you are responsible for your health, if you get sick it was your fault.

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"Even though us enlightened moderns might scoff at both, the shift is significant."

That is an interesting way to look at the shift but I see your point. They moved in a more proactive direction.