21–28 of 28 posts
"A madman is not someone who has lost his reason but someone who has lost everything but his reason." - GK Chesterton
What's the context of this quote? When I search it on Google one of the front page results is actually this HN comment. It's hard to find more information about GK Chesterton's broader point.
"A madman is not someone who has lost his reason but someone who has lost everything but his reason." - GK Chesterton
What's the context of this quote? When I search it on Google one of the front page results is actually this HN comment. It's hard to find more information about GK Chesterton's broader point.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
From the article: > It's a nice excuse to get together and have a bit of a community spirit but without the religion aspect > It's not a church, it's a congregation of unreligious people. Seems more a gathering of same-minded persons than a real cult.
What's the jumping off point at which a gathering of like-minded people becomes a cult? Can "cult" be used to describe religious groups (or very zealous factional groups) without the pejorative connotations of the colloquial term? Or is "cult" basically a universally negative appellation?
2. The classical definition of "cult" has almost no overlap with today's perjorative evolution of the word and just means a system of worship.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Culte" is neutral and "Secte" is the negative word.
Wouldn't "the Sect of Reason" be a much better English translation then? "Culte" in French and "sect" in English are neutral. "Secte" in French and "cult" in English have negative connotations.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
From the article: > It's a nice excuse to get together and have a bit of a community spirit but without the religion aspect > It's not a church, it's a congregation of unreligious people. Seems more a gathering of same-minded persons than a real cult.
What's the jumping off point at which a gathering of like-minded people becomes a cult? Can "cult" be used to describe religious groups (or very zealous factional groups) without the pejorative connotations of the colloquial term? Or is "cult" basically a universally negative appellation?
Here's some more differentiators, but you can search "warning signs for a cult"... there's no standard list that I'm aware of.
- Separating people from their outsider friends&family
- Over time absorbing all of member's financial assets
- Punishment for leaving
- Members discouraged from questioning orthodoxy
- Non-volunteer or otherwise coerced unpaid labor
- A culture of hiding information from outsiders
- The leader has exclusive claim to ultimate truth
- Regardless of harm, the leader's behavior is justified
Sounds a bit like Burning Man
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the jumping off point at which a gathering of like-minded people becomes a cult? Can "cult" be used to describe religious groups (or very zealous factional groups) without the pejorative connotations of the colloquial term? Or is "cult" basically a universally negative appellation?
No, a cult is like a mental disorder... by definition if it's not causing harm in the person's life it's not a disorder. Many cults disguise themselves as religious groups. Here's some more differentiators, but you can search "warning signs for a cult"... there's no standard list that I'm aware of. - Separating people from their outsider friends&family - Over time absorbing all of member's financial assets - Punishme…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Culte" is neutral and "Secte" is the negative word.
Wouldn't "the Sect of Reason" be a much better English translation then? "Culte" in French and "sect" in English are neutral. "Secte" in French and "cult" in English have negative connotations.