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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.

David Bohm#14

BeliefIdeologyReligionValuesWar

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

  • religious debates
  • political disputes
  • family arguments

Putting it to work

  • identify core values
  • respect differences
  • avoid dogma

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.

More from David Bohm

  1. For both the rich and the poor, life is dominated by an ever growing current of problems, most of which seem to have no real and lasting solution. Clearly we h…

    Permalink to quote #13
  2. Difference exist because thought develops like a stream that happens to go one way here and another way there. Once it develops it produces real physical resul…

    Permalink to quote #15
  3. The notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confu…

    Permalink to quote #12

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