G.W.F. Hegel (credit: Wikimedia Commons) 

In this chapter, Philosophy students will notice parallels between aspects of my ideas and the philosophy of Hegel, and I admit freely that similarities exist. But I also have some major points of disagreement with Hegel, which I will explain along the way. For those readers who are not Philosophy students, please note that I will give only a very quick version of my understanding of Hegel. If you find the ideas presented here at all interesting, you really should give Hegel a try. His writing is difficult, but not impossible, and it has also been interpreted by some disciples who write more accessibly.¹ 

But in this book, let’s now get back to our analysis of the world views, values, morés, and behaviour patterns that are discernible in the history of some of the societies of the West.

                        

                                                 

                     Saturn devouring one of his children (Goya) (credit: Wikimedia Commons) 

For instance, let’s consider the ancient Greeks, the ones who came long before Socrates’ time. They portrayed the universe as an irrational, dangerous place. To them, the gods who ran the universe were capricious, violent, and cruel, which also described the Greeks’ worldview. Under this view, humans could only cringe fearfully when confronted with the gods’ testy humours. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hades, Athena, Apollo, and the rest were all lustful, jealous, cruel, and unpredictable. Zeus, especially, had thunderbolts; Poseidon inflicted earthquakes; Apollo, plagues.