Confucius taught that we should think of life as a series of rituals that better ourselves and society. But the Confucian ritual is not like habits. Unlike habits, rituals are quite flexible. For example, you may have shaken people’s hands out of habit as a greeting and may have struggled to stop when the pandemic hit. Confucian ritual sees greeting people as a good thing, but there are many ways to greet someone respectfully. So, people who submit to ritual will have no problem greeting people without touching them post-pandemic. Read full article here
Culture
The Priest in the Arena
The phrase “man in the arena” has been popularized in recent years, but a lesser known, more dangerous archetype is the “priest in the arena”. This figure is responsible for a process called theocratic capture, where an institution surrenders to a cult demanding unaccountable authority, fueled by claims to privileged knowledge. These cults often target powerful institutions and attempt to monopolize conversations with scaremongering tactics and hostile treatment of allies. It is important to identify and stop theocratic capture before it can gain control. Read full article here
Merv
May 29, 2023
