In the animal kingdom, only humans are capable of having abstract ideas and communicating them. This ability comes directly from our language skills. We have a language to think in and develop ideas and concepts. Then we have a means of communicating the same idea using a means of expressing that language using sounds.
If we carefully observe, we will find out that we think in a language, in most cases our mother tongue. We think of ideas and concepts using the words in that language. If we don’t know any language, we cannot think abstractly.
Various abstract Ideas and concepts are the pillars of human progress. And some ideas and concepts could be the root cause of our elimination from this world. If life as a society was a good idea, the concept of religions was a bad idea. If nuclear reactors are a good idea, atom bombs are a bad idea.
All this good and bad developed from our ability to communicate. And our ability to communicate is a direct result of our ability to speak. No other species can communicate like we humans do, and therefore we rule the planet, and we will continue to rule until we use the same ability and skill to get ourselves extinct.
Its foolish to think that religion can make people good,
and its equally foolish to think that absence of religion
can make people good!
man always need a higher ideal to submit his mind and will.some have devoleped their own value system,some people borrow an already existing framework like religion or communism(yes party is more or less like a church).
you have people like gandhi,martin luthur,mother theresa who have so much good to humanity,and they were all religious people.
and one more thing,we always do not think using language,most of the time we think in terms of visuals,and some thoughts are very difficult to translate in to words thats why we have music,and visual art forms like painting,sculptring etc.Language has got its limit.i am not contradicting you ,just adding one more point.
Comment by dhanesh — October 31, 2008 @ 6:38 am