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A dogmatist-- assuming he's not the dictator in a theocracy -- can only shut down the problem as far as he is concerned. But in this country, each of us is free to keep our options open. (But if someone wants to deny free will, I guess it's inappropriate to regard that as keeping one's options open.)

Do you imagine that the only dogmatists/dictators in human history have been of the "theocratical type"? If so, how do you explain the "usual suspects" -- the Lenins, the Stalins, the Hitlers, et al.?

Or is it that you lean to the broadest, most "liberal" definition of the word "theological?"

My guess is you could make such a case, thataway; but not without trashing something like 40 millennia of human experience and reflection of same in the process.

PH, you wrote: "each of us is free to keep our options open."

To which I might reply: "How many options, exactly, do you imagine the denizens of totalist regimes enjoy on a daily basis?" Do we folk living here in America perhaps tend to take a whole lot for granted, compared to other peoples?

Maybe just a different twist on the one argument being ventilated by the two of us.

But now it's sleepy-time for me; good night, dear Patrick! Pleasant dreams and (hopefully) see you tomorrow.

Thank you for the heads up to your discussion!

A dogmatist-- assuming he's not the dictator in a theocracy -- can only shut down the problem as far as he is concerned. But in this country, each of us is free to keep our options open.

When I read this I took it to mean that as long as people have personal spiritual identity apart from the "state" or "dictator" - they could never be fully subdued. It seems reasonable to me that the most effective tyrannies are the ones which destroy the public's hope - e.g. state mandated atheism in communist countries, taliban theocracy in Afghanistan, etc.

Do you imagine that the only dogmatists/dictators in human history have been of the "theocratical type"? If so, how do you explain the "usual suspects" -- the Lenins, the Stalins, the Hitlers, et al.?

You're right, BB. Dictators of non-theological systems would also try to control the philosophical views of their people. I was thinking of recent events involving the taliban, and of much older events involving the inquisition, but of course the range of totalitarian disctatorships is far wider than that, and almost all of them would want to control how the people think.