The implication that atheism is an evolutionary benefit or progression is, I would suggest, ill-founded – but that's just my opinion.
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Contemporary atheism is, in the mind of the philosopher John Gray and others, monotheism
inverted. Quite simply it's a belief in which a surrogate has been placed on the heavenly throne. It might be 'self', or 'science', or some socio-political ideology – but for all intents and purposes it is a 'religion' in the manner in which its adherents cleave to its doctrines and its dogmas.
The emergence of false and flawed ideologies, with their attendant trappings of fables, myths and legends, their taboos and their superstitions, is more prevalent now than ever before, thanks to social media. The fact that they do not have a recognisable 'god' is simply because the audience isn't paying attention.
But two aspects are telling, and should horrify the genuine atheist:
1: People live online now.
2: That the majority are under the glamour of a few.
Glamour is an old Scots word meaning a 'spell' to deceived the eyes. The contemporary term is 'influencer'. and, notably, 'glamour' in its later Hollywood understanding is a powerful manipulative tool.
3: The 'techbros' are the magisterium of the online world.
Magisterium because they are inviolate and not contained by societal norms. Traditional media, press and print, film and tv, would be brought to court and suffer crippling fines for publishing the kind of material that proliferates online. The techbros succeeded in tricking (or buying) the authorities into thinking there is a material difference between 'publishing' which renders the owner liable under law for what they publish, and 'platforming' which does not – thus, the techbros are beyond the law. So rich and powerful now as to be (apparently) out of reach.
This is simply an ancient cult in online garb.
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So are we smarter?
An issue today is whether AI will replace human intelligence. It's a false debate. What AI demonstrates is the poverty of human thinking. AI works on collecting data and applying mathematical models. No thought necessary. Most of what we call 'thinking' is like that, it's rehashing the same old data, running down the same avenues we always run down.
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In an earlier post I mentioned the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The mantra today, in all the strident and powerful ideologies, and those ideologies are growing stronger, in all its sham hollowness, is quite the reverse: 'Our' problem is 'their' fault. Do 'them', and 'our' problem will go away.
(Or: Do unto others before they do it unto you)
