Ideas are Weapons
Ideas are Weapons
Humans are sheep. We accept shared worldviews because of ideas in our head that are complex concepts that represent the activities and conditions around us. Human brains have developed over the millennia with the ability to store and retrieve social interaction plans and schemes.
1. The world is shaped by people’s shared ideas
We live and operate in the world created by people’s ideas. Our beliefs in boundaries and countries come about because of our shared beliefs. Our political systems and economic systems are developed in our minds. Trust in currency and forms of capital depends on shared ideas. We usually fulfill and live in someone else’s dreams and passions. So, for these reasons, it is fair to say that ideas drive much of what occurs in our society through words, deeds, and group action. Books and other methods have been used to convey ideas down through generations. Part of our social world has come about because science and technology has grown and changed over the years. Likewise, our social interactions result from the slow evolution of our social mores, beliefs, and pattern of behavior. Often these later tendencies appear mired in medieval patterns that need to be updated.
2. Our behaviors are shaped by our minds and ideas
Each day is ruled by the concepts in our minds. Our system of government, our police systems, our schools, roads, and military have been determined by conceptual decisions made in the past. I go to work every day because of my beliefs in the working world. I enjoy certain movies because they resonate with what is in my head. Many of these concepts have persisted from one generation to another, past the life of single individuals. I am calling these concepts held in our minds, group concept frames. These are mental structures that are partial or complete mappings for activities in the world. Examples of these are our beliefs about how our government should be formed, how people should treat one another, and what kind of religion makes sense to us.
3. Our friends, enemies, economies, military, and religions are determined by ideas
I chose my friends and associates based on concepts in my head. I associate with writers, science fiction fans, and Democrats. Over time, religions have arisen. Those religions then survived if they were aligned with strong political powers. People will join together and oppose others because of a set of shared ideas. We employ a capitalistic system in the United States. Some people barter, give away things for free, and parts of our country use socialistic methods for people to help each other. War also depends on beliefs and ideas. Fighters must believe in the cause in order to risk their lives. Each county decides how much to invest in the military and how it should be organized. Boot camps are used to indoctrinate new recruits
4. Political structures reflect constructed shared ideas
In each society, we believe in certain shared sets of beliefs about politics. We accept that the public should agree in the method or process of how leaders are selected. Our sets of political and social beliefs are often built upon foundations provided by others who came before us. For example, these four historical names, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein provided shared worldviews that many people in the world have adopted and used in their lives. The world we live in has been profoundly affected by the ideas put forward from these individuals. Modern economics is understood to operate along capitalist lines as described by Smith. Much political conflict in the 20th century related to competition between communistic political systems versus the big western polities. The ideas of Karl Marx and other socialist and communist thinkers led to revolutions in political-economic systems which have not completely run out yet. Our understanding of evolution and biological systems takes much language and concepts from the writings of Darwin. Physics and cosmology continue advancing many ideas proposed by Einstein. Ideas and concepts have built much of our world. How we live, eat, travel, relate to one another, and our other interactions are driven by ideas that find homes in our minds.
5. Our brains and language developed because of group ideas
Our brains expanded rapidly a hundred thousand years ago. Human brains developed with the ability to store social interaction information. Human brains contain almost three times as many neurons as a chimpanzee. The development of the human brain is important for large-scale interactions. Because human population density was increasing the brain had to increase. Nature and nurture have existed in a dynamic interplay for humans. We evolved but we also use our brains to do things differently than evolution prompts us. Language developed to enable us to exchange cultural information. Now language is a tool that allows us to share ideas, concepts, and maps of the social and physical world. Language can be used to represent the concepts in our brains with other people.
6. The future will be constructed from our ideas of today
Most people spend much of their lives playing out these concept frames. Being aware of the concept frames in my mind enables the making of conscious decisions. Societies are organized through activities in multiple domains, such as language, social organization, kinship and family relations, obtaining and preparing food and water, creating clothing and shelter, intergroup relations, such as trade and warfare, expressive matters including dance, ritual, song, myth, etc. Understanding these relationships will give us more freedom and purpose. I look forward when we consciously shape the ideas in our minds to bring about a more just and rational society.
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