Many, many people throughout history have died because of their "new" ideas. The Early Christians were a famous target. But Galileo was killed because he refused to recant his ideas about the earth not being the center of the Solar system; Thomas Beckett; Joan of Arc; Maximilian Kolbe died at Auschwitz; Lady Jane Grey....Countless people have died for their faith, their beliefs, their causes.

But why do humans find it difficult to accept new and often radical ideas? Is it something to do with our survival as a species? Or is it just pure stubbornness? I find this hard to understand. To crucify a man because he has different religious views is just plain wrong. But there must be some good reason for this behavior- but I cannot figure it out.

Even here on IQ, we often defend our points of view (myself included) even when there is plenty of evidence to convince us we are wrong.

Why are humans like this? Why are we so ruthless about killing those who oppose our precious ideas?

And is it worth it?

Jaianniah

alt text

asked 12 Jun '13, 21:23

Jaianniah's gravatar image

Jaianniah
37.8k13104607

1

a changing of the ways is not always welcomed, particularly ideas that turn present things upside down

(13 Jun '13, 06:46) fred

Fear. Insecurity. If another source presents an idea to us which causes us to question our own beliefs, we often lash out and attack the one who presented the idea [incorrectly] believing if we destroy the messenger it will remove the impact of the message. This of course never works because the person presenting the idea isn't the cause of the person's issues, it's the person themselves and how they / their beliefs respond to being questioned or challenged.

People feel they need security and stability. If someone forms the stability of their identity, their lives, their decisions and directions in life, all on their beliefs about the world around them, then they will very severely reject any ideas which interfere with their source of security. Some people do this with what you may perceive as blatant disregard and purposeful ignorance of a truth and/or avoiding the concept entirely. Others lash out and attack anyone and anything they feel is a threat to their safety.

This is why people who are truly comfortable with themselves don't feel upset or bothered by the beliefs or viewpoints of others, their security isn't up for debate based upon whether or not their particular version of reality or God is valid or not.

In short, people placing their happiness in the hands of circumstance or others and then trying to preserve their happiness by forcing aforementioned circumstances or others to conform to whatever makes the insecure more comfortable. This article explains it very well in different terms: http://dopamineproject.org/2013/01/why-power-money-and-esteem-addicts-are-more-dangerous-than-junkies/

link

answered 13 Jun '13, 10:37

Snow's gravatar image

Snow
6.3k117108

edited 13 Jun '13, 10:41

Another great answer!

(13 Jun '13, 10:47) Jaianniah

I guess it ultimately depends on what you actually view as "new". There are many things around us today that came from "new" and ridiculous ideas.

For instance, the aeroplane, colour television, 3G/4G Internet access, mobile phones, computers, tablets to things like plastic surgery and others. All of these were probably considered as radical and absurd ideas to others before they even existed.

I am probably talking about something that is a little different from what you are talking about, but to me I feel that they are similar. There are many great people in history that have pushed through with their ideas and beliefs and made it, and there are also others who didn't. So I do not think that people with new ideas are persecuted more than average people, but maybe they just chose to wrong time to voice out their opinions and ideas.

link

answered 14 Jun '13, 11:02

kakaboo's gravatar image

kakaboo
10.6k632152

You are right...perhaps things have changed a bit..we have certainly gotten used to the electronics industry changing!!! :) Thanks, Kak!

(14 Jun '13, 12:01) Jaianniah

I am telling you the truth, some are rebellious and cannot accept the truth they also cannot accept to not be the number one or the greatest. they should know that the greatest is the one that serve you best. But are they serving people best by judging and killing them. the measure they use that is the measure that is going to be applied to them. Do not be surprise at my saying. Who is with out sin to cast the first stone? Some judge by the flesh, by money by material possession, By what they do not see Good in their own mind, yet if they would walk a mile in the shoe of someone else that they judge they would see things differently. But this world seek to make number one that have money that finish first that have lots of physical things. that are not afraid to do what needs to be done even if it means killing someone else. if someone would listen to their heart and mind they would find out that this is not good and would change their ways and grow.

link

answered 13 Jun '13, 07:21

white%20tiger's gravatar image

white tiger
21.9k115116

Click here to create a free account

If you are seeing this message then the Inward Quest system has noticed that your web browser is behaving in an unusual way and is now blocking your active participation in this site for security reasons. As a result, among other things, you may find that you are unable to answer any questions or leave any comments. Unusual browser behavior is often caused by add-ons (ad-blocking, privacy etc) that interfere with the operation of our website. If you have installed these kinds of add-ons, we suggest you disable them for this website




Related Questions