The antithetical nature of good and evil is what I consider to be the
defining characteristic of dualism.
On 11 Apr, he wrote
> But have you never come across a native religion which contained a
dualistic theme? The Rotinohshonni (Hodenosaunee/ Hotinoshonni/Iroquois)
system of thought certainly contained a dualism of good and evil before
European thought could have possibly influenced it. The point
of my statement was to argue that even with this native concept of
dualism, the outcomes or manifestation of that belief need not be
insensitive to the natural balance between the two.
> Without clarification on your part, I am forced to believe that the
ethno-centricity exhibited by earlier scholars who viewed all ideas
as having eminated from the classical grecian mind remains pervasive.
I would rather believe that we are facing a semantic, rather than a
real, argument. I have no problem with admitting an Iroquoian (to use the
shorter term |) dualism, but for the terminology to be useful, but don't you
agree we should at least try to characterise the points of similarity and
difference with "classical" dualism? As I have written on a not unrelated
topic <Recovery>, understanding another cultural pattern needs serious
attention to terminology, well beyond labels of ethnocentricity and pervasive
mindsets.
In this light, I entirely agree with your note to hitchhiker:
> Consider the reality of our modern situation rather than a fantastic
idealized world of uncompromised "Indian vs. White" worlds and you'll
find the linkages get in your face at every turn.
|{hm kerry miller <ASTINGSH@KSUVM.KSU.EDU> fido 1:14/680