Mannheim & Historical Synergy Ancient Greek Religion to Modern Materialism Value Laden Ideology and Selective Attention

“Mannheim holds that historical and political thought is determined by the socio-historical location of the thinker and the political aspirations and material ambitions of the group or groups to which he belongs.”[i] –  Willard A. Mullins Christina Maimone states that “Ideology [including philosophy & social science] is, as Mannheim uses the term, a mode of thought that obscures the real condition of society to the group holding the thought, thereby stabilizing the shared social reality of the mode of thought. Groups are simply unable to see particular facts that would undermine their conception of the world!” 

I would add that research into selective attention provides support for Maimone’s analysis because modern neuroscience has demonstrated, as William James observed, that to pay attention to something, one has to exclude or ignore other information. That supports the Mannheim argument that ideologies – “groups are simply unable to see particular facts that would undermine their conception of the world!”

“Such thought is inherently value-laden, one-sided, distorted, and therefore false. In short, all systems of historical-social-political thought are ideologies” – Mullins

1)      “Greek religion was a psychological projection of Greek society, containing within its meaning a representation of both the reality and the ideal of the Greeks” Edward C. P. Stewart Ancient Greek Religion: In ancient Greek religion there is synergy with social-political structures. The Greek pantheon, with its patriarchal family structure, mirrored the social hierarchies of early Greek history, where oligarchies ruled by patriarchal families were prevalent.

2)      Sumerian Civilization: Sumerians, known for their agricultural advancements and early writing system, developed a theocratic government where the priesthood played a crucial role in managing the state, particularly in relation to irrigation systems. Ground radar revealed hundreds of irrigation canals at Eridu with hundreds of branch canals.

3)      Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Societies: The importance of spiritual beliefs in animal spirits within prehistoric Alaskan and Chukotka societies – and hunter gatherer was due to the importance of hunting gathering as an occupation. Those beliefs were prevalent in Native American hunter gatherer beliefs as well.

4)      Spiritual and religious beliefs have played a pivotal role in shaping social structures throughout history. These beliefs, often intertwined with economic and political realities, have influenced everything from hunting practices and social hierarchies to government structures and cultural values.

Commentary: Roy Rapport highlights the fact that in early human societies there ten4ded to be a holistic synergy within the diverse parts of soci8ety – parallel to the historical synergy that Mannheim advocates.  Rappaport states “Few if any societies break the world into the more or less distinct systems distinguished by Western science. Not all of them, surely, distinguish environmental from social relations…. Moreover, these understandings and principles, which in the Maring view, account for the structure and state of the world and invest the world and actions in it with meaning, are not confined to the particular material and social regulations regulated. They include as well metaphysical abstractions of great generality.”

Mannheim, Materialist Ideology, Extreme Individualism

David Hay, a Christian Theologian and scholar, coined the term “extreme individualism”.  In “The Primordial Roots Of Being”, Edward C. P. Stewart states the problem very concisely: “many social scientists endow an individual with an absolute and independent mind” (p.94) – which is very unrealistic and unbalanced in a very complex society of sophisticated relationships. There is an emerging consensus that extreme individualism is unbalanced and unhealthy: Kenneth Gergen, Jeremiah Reyes, Virgilion Enriquez, and Joe Holland. Iain McGilChrist observes that Individualism, as it is, is an oversimplification. Durkheim stated that the modern problem is “the threat posed to society by an amoral, unbridled individualism, and the consequence of this negative ethic for collective well-being and identity.  Durkheim argued that “The reason is that the modern emphasis on self-actualization and the rational reflection on the means to achieve individual ends has increased the number of actual and imagined objects individuals have convinced themselves that they need.” – which is an interesting question. (Durkheim on Religion and Moral Community in Modernity* Lise Ann Tole, Boston University)

Mannheim, the Enlightenment and Materialist ideology 

David Hay and Kenneth Gergen agree that the genesis of Extreme Individualism was during the enlightenment gave birth to extreme individualism in the form of “Rational Individualism!” Hobbes, Locke’s Social Contract, and Rational Individualism emerged during the Enlightenment to enable the establishment of democracy in order to overcome aristocracy and clerical authority. However, the political ideal was assimilated by the social sciences.

“Science” at the time was the dominant force in society which fits Mannheim’s Paradigm that the political-economic reality shapes the social sciences and spiritual-religious beliefs. In his 1896 lecture, “The Will to Believe,” tried to refute the core materialist argument of W. K. Clifford (1845–79), who argued in his “The Ethics of Belief” that “It is wrong always, everywhere and for everyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” That argument still exists today.

William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen state, “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” “Definist Fallacies” occur when someone unfairly defines a term so that a controversial position is made easier to defend – like defining spirituality as “intangible” – which is a “loaded term.” The Definist Fallacy is the same as the same as the “Persuasive Definition.” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Effectively what materialists have done is to define spirituality as undefinable.

Materialism as Powerful Ideology

Christina Maimone states that “Ideology [including philosophy & social science] is, as Mannheim uses the term, a mode of thought that obscures the real condition of society to the group holding the thought, thereby stabilizing the shared social reality of the mode of thought. Groups are simply unable to see particular facts that would undermine their conception of the world!”  

When Death becomes a Figment of Your Imagination!

In 2023, I happened to be talking with a Filipina college student at a street restaurant in General Santos, Philippines. I went over the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article as “the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” Since Filipinas have a reputation for being spiritual, I was a bit surprised when the Filipina college student/graduate agreed with the argument that “spirituality is unreal because it is intangible’.

So, I asked her to consider – for a moment – the concept of “death!” I emphasized that – of all things – “death” is “intangible and beyond the senses” and way beyond quantification. Then I pointed out that if you then follow the logic and reasoning of the materialist argument, “Death is then a “figment of your imagination and superstitious nonsense.” She paused for a second, then agreed with my reasoning – which was a major success for me.

The Dark Side of Materialist Ideology: “In every regard, it seems, when we embrace determinism, we indulge our dark side!”

Research by Kathleen Vohs and Jonathan Schooler showed that “It seems that when people stop believing they are free agents; they stop seeing themselves as blameworthy for their actions. Consequently, they act less responsibly and give in to their baser instincts. Vohs emphasized that this result is not limited to the contrived conditions of a lab experiment. “You see the same effects with people who naturally believe more or less in free will…Further studies by Baumeister and colleagues have linked a diminished belief in free will to stress, unhappiness, and a lesser commitment to relationships.”  

Materialist Ideology, a Value Laden Ideology with Severely Restricted and Limited analyses, and the “Denial of Everything Supra-Individual”  

“The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life.” Irish poet theologian John O’Donohue Of course the way we think is to a large degree shaped by what we are taught.

“Mannheim holds that historical and political thought is determined by the socio-historical location of the thinker and the political aspirations and material ambitions of the group or groups to which he belongs. Such thought is inherently value-laden, one-sided, distorted, and therefore false. In short, all systems of historical-social-political thought are ideologies”![ii]  

Claudia Nielsen emphasizes that McGilChrist states “The scope of inquiry and understanding of the Materialist Doctrine with its rigid adherence to the actually arbitrary principle of quantification and over-emphasis on physiological characteristics is severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed!” Jeremiah Lasquety-Reyes, author & expert on Filipino ethics said, “Hi Charles, I completely agree with you that this extreme adherence to materialism is too restrictive and limiting, and frankly fails to capture so many richer aspects of human experience and psychology. It leaves the field of psychology all the poorer. Partly, I think an alternative metaphysics is needed, one that respects the reality and meaning of things like love, relationships, and the profound reality of other people as people and not just as a compound of atoms, chemicals, and neurons firing. Glad that we’re on the same page!”

Half of human conscious is not quantifiable: hope, art, dreams, music, poetry, true love, awe-wonder, freedom, ideals, justice, – not to mention death. I would briefly question that how a methodology – described by McGilChrist as a “rigid adherence to quantification” which is appropriate to physics or chemistry got applied to human consciousness is mindboggling. Materialists say that the quantification method makes materialism objective – as McGilChrist points out that is far from true.

Rene Guenon, a French philosopher, takes McGilChrist’s argument up one level. Guenon states that materialism is “the denial of everything that is of a supra-individual order!” Guenon appears correct – Historically, symbolism, spirituality, and social consciousness have been sidelined and marginalized

[i] Mullins, Willard A. “Truth and ideology: Reflections on Mannheim’s paradox.” History and Theory 18, no. 2 (1979): 141-154. – p. 143