The human brain reasons in terms of metaphor. These metaphors drive expectations and help us frame future and current events. When tow actions are seen to occur simultaneously, the brain physically links them together into a frame. For instance, a a restaurant. You picture being seated, having a menu, having a waiter or waitress, waiting for your food, getting the food etc. Sounds pretty straightforward, fairly mundane right? Well, not to professor of cognitive science and linguistics at UC Berkeley George Lakoff. He points out that all public debates are framed in terms of metaphor in order to create a public conception of certain events.
Take the first Gulf war. It follows the paradigm of a Hero (US) saving a victim (Kuwait) from a crazed villain (Iraq). Lakoff has a detailed metaphorical analysis of the propaganda surrounding the Gulf War here http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Texts/Scholarly/Lakoff_Gulf_Metaphor_1.html
The following video outlines his position more generally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9R9MtkpqM
So looking at the points he makes with respect to the tendency of modern progressivism, I see certain parallels with the atheist movement. There is a tendency to expect people to reason to the right conclusion, if they don't they are assumed to be stupid or hopelessly ignorant and so they get ignored. The problem is that most people fit in to the ignore category. Why? Is it because most people are too stupid to reason to the truth? No, they simply haven't internalized the framework that allows for seemingly straightforward enlightenment style thought and argumentation. Those who are atheists typically have done so. So there is an apparent disconnect, and this is because there is an actual disconnect. Scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and in general people who are highly trained and highly educated think differently and have a highly refined framework through which discussion takes place. If you haven't gone to college or if you attended college but weren't ever very academically inclined and didn't pursue academic interests in your free time, you probably never internalized that highly refined framework.
So how do you relate to all of the people who haven't internalized the argumentative framework you have? Create a propaganda model! What is a propaganda model? It sounds sinister and duplicitous! Why can't they just go and internalize the necessary framework? Because it is impractical for most people to spend the years necessary to do so.
So what is a propaganda model and why does it work? Well, the general idea is that you study cognitive science and psychology and find clever ways to tie atheist and rationalist values into everyday life, but not just into everyday life; into the very mental framework of the average person. You have to tie it in to good things like family values, understanding, a better more secure future, self empowerment etc. Of course real research would absolutely be a requirement. A few atheist think tanks would help, for instance.
So, what are your thoughts?
Take the first Gulf war. It follows the paradigm of a Hero (US) saving a victim (Kuwait) from a crazed villain (Iraq). Lakoff has a detailed metaphorical analysis of the propaganda surrounding the Gulf War here http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Texts/Scholarly/Lakoff_Gulf_Metaphor_1.html
The following video outlines his position more generally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9R9MtkpqM
So looking at the points he makes with respect to the tendency of modern progressivism, I see certain parallels with the atheist movement. There is a tendency to expect people to reason to the right conclusion, if they don't they are assumed to be stupid or hopelessly ignorant and so they get ignored. The problem is that most people fit in to the ignore category. Why? Is it because most people are too stupid to reason to the truth? No, they simply haven't internalized the framework that allows for seemingly straightforward enlightenment style thought and argumentation. Those who are atheists typically have done so. So there is an apparent disconnect, and this is because there is an actual disconnect. Scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and in general people who are highly trained and highly educated think differently and have a highly refined framework through which discussion takes place. If you haven't gone to college or if you attended college but weren't ever very academically inclined and didn't pursue academic interests in your free time, you probably never internalized that highly refined framework.
So how do you relate to all of the people who haven't internalized the argumentative framework you have? Create a propaganda model! What is a propaganda model? It sounds sinister and duplicitous! Why can't they just go and internalize the necessary framework? Because it is impractical for most people to spend the years necessary to do so.
So what is a propaganda model and why does it work? Well, the general idea is that you study cognitive science and psychology and find clever ways to tie atheist and rationalist values into everyday life, but not just into everyday life; into the very mental framework of the average person. You have to tie it in to good things like family values, understanding, a better more secure future, self empowerment etc. Of course real research would absolutely be a requirement. A few atheist think tanks would help, for instance.
So, what are your thoughts?