Dogmatism

I’ve argued that self defeating behavior stems from an overactivated amygdala, and the following effort of the organism to create emotional “logic”, an A=A sort of thing, though justifying ex post facto preexisting sensations.

Emotionally, what is dogmatism?  Is it anything but a permanent refuge from shame?  Is it not precisely the need to never apologize, to never feel bad, because you are absolutely right, and anyone who disagrees with you absolutely wrong?

How does dogmatism create an A=A relationship?  I think it does it by placing all the blame on someone, anyone, else.  You project your shame onto other people, by saying, “It’s not me, it’s YOU”.  What you do is create a rigid world view which creates inevitable conflict with other people who are not narrowly like you.  Dogmatism, in this sense, would be completely pointless in a uniform world, which would explain well why, as one obvious example, the lunatics in the Soviet Union turned on one another over very narrow atheological (theological style combined with actual atheism) disputes.  This was by Trotsky–who agreed with nearly all points of Communistic ideology–has to have an ice pick shoved in his head.  The followers of Zinoviev likewise.  They were too close to be ignored, but imprecisely affiliated. 

For the true ideologue, their enemies thus serve the precise purpose of Jewish sacrificial lambs.  And the point of the rigidity is to CREATE enemies, to create scapegoats.

And logically, the greater the rejection of actual shame, the higher the proportions of both fear and aggression remaining.  This is why the Headless Ones go into clinical hyperarousal every time someone disagrees with them.

I think is close to the truth.  What is the opposite of sacrificial culture, which is to say in the modern world, political identity politics and ideology?  Deep, deep, physical relaxation.  As the amygdala calms, all the insanity disappears.

I am increasingly convinced I have solutions which I will brazenly call the problems of humanity.

But I want to argue from the other side of the river, which I have not personally reached yet.  It is no good manipulating symbols.  It is, in my view, critically important to embody ideas, to be able to touch them, feel their texture, feed on them, be nourished by them.

I pray every day for help in this.  If you are inclined to say a prayer for me, please do.  I can use all the help I can get.