Suppose you have two religions. Thought defines religion - the thought about the nature of God and various questions like that. Such thought is very important because it is about God, who is supposed to be supreme. The thought about what is of supreme value must have the highest force. So if you disagree about that, the emotional impact can be very great, and you will then have no way to settle it. Two different beliefs about God will thus produce intense fragmentation - similarly with thoughts about the nature of society, which is also very important, or with ideologies such as communism and capitalism, or with different beliefs about your family or about your money. Whatever it is that is very important to you, fragmentation in your thought about it is going to be very powerful in its effects.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Intense fragmentation arises when people disagree about supreme values like God or society, leading to conflict.
- In plain terms
- Disagreements about what matters most cause deep division.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize that disagreement on core values causes fragmentation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What values do I treat as supreme?
- How does this cause conflict in my life?
Another view
Some conflicts cannot be resolved through understanding alone.
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