The Right to be Delusional

Towards a Theory of Emergence

Authors

  • Mark Darius Juszczak St. John's University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46661/rev.int.pensampolit..8460

Keywords:

Human Rights, delusion, religions, irrationality

Abstract

While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and numerous other constitutions, international treaties and declarations proclaim and protect the right to freedom of religion, no documents, at the current time, appear to either proclaim or protect the broader freedom that the freedom of religion belongs to – the right to be delusional. This is not to, in any way, to denigrate any particular religion or religious belief. Rather, it is to recognize that a multitude of persistent religious beliefs represent a collective acceptance, by the human species, of irrational cultural practices as a part of our meaning making process and a fundamental aspect of our evolution. Why then, do irrational cultural practices not extend back to the individual? Why is it that individual irrational practices are, in the vast majority of cases, condemned as forms of mental illness or depression or insanity. Why do we condemn the irrational practices of the individual, but honor and protect the irrational practices of groups?

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Published

2023-12-22

How to Cite

Juszczak, M. D. (2023). The Right to be Delusional: Towards a Theory of Emergence. International Journal of Political Thought, 18(18), 351–364. https://doi.org/10.46661/rev.int.pensampolit.8460

Issue

Vol. 18 (2023)

Section

Estudios Varios

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Copyright (c) 2023 Mark Darius Juszczak

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