About Religion

The value of a religion should be judged, not by its doctrines, but by the quality of the children and young adults raised within its community.

Yogi Bera was right

"You can see a lot just by observing."

That is definitely true.  On the plus side, it is a good way to learn, accurately and for yourself.  On the minus side, there is a very good chance that others won't like what you observe, and will deny it and condemn you for saying it."  The of course is the lesson of the story "The Emperor's New Clothes."

Basic reading

The single most important book, one that everyone should be familiar with, is Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872).  It is the bedrock for the consideration of psychology and philosophy.

Early times

There has been agriculture and civilization for about 10,000 years. That is, these started roughly 8,000 years before Christ.  The two go together.  Cultivation of plants and animals makes possible a settled way of life.  Cities need agriculture in order to feed their growing population.

And, cities--large numbers of people living together--need rules and structures that weren't necessary in a hunting and gathering, nomadic band.

Human origins

Everyone, every person, is ultimately a child of Africa.  That is where "human" life began, perhaps 100,000 years ago.

The widespread effects of irrationality have been greatly underestimated

In the social sciences, particularly economics but also political science, there has been a "myth of rationality," a belief that individuals make choices that are at least quite good (if not necessarily absolutely maximal). For themselves, and hopefully also for society at large.

This is, however, almost completely untrue. People often don't know what is good for them, and even if they had any such conception, often don't act on it, but do completely otherwise.  Many difficulties (individual and societal) stem from this fact.