- Sep 12, 2008
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My boy turned me on to Terry Pratchett. I have an aversion to most Science Fiction (Douglas Addams excepted) but Terry Pratchett is the best exemplar of what the genre is good for since Dean Swift.
Small Gods is Pratchett's explanation of ideas previously half baked by Nietzsche and Veblen. Gods exist because we believe in them. They have the powers they have because we say they do. (the same can be said of Governments as well) Religions sometimes live long after the gods themselves have died. And the actions of religion are sometimes fatal to gods.
The story is about a theocratic state on the Discworld dedicated to the great god Om. The have a huge religious beurocracy, a powerful army. an inquisition to make sure there is no heresy. But in all Omnia, there is only one believer, so the god is reduced to living the the shell of a small turtle protected by the only believer.
it is pretty good reading, and it leads to some very interesting thinking.
Small Gods is Pratchett's explanation of ideas previously half baked by Nietzsche and Veblen. Gods exist because we believe in them. They have the powers they have because we say they do. (the same can be said of Governments as well) Religions sometimes live long after the gods themselves have died. And the actions of religion are sometimes fatal to gods.
The story is about a theocratic state on the Discworld dedicated to the great god Om. The have a huge religious beurocracy, a powerful army. an inquisition to make sure there is no heresy. But in all Omnia, there is only one believer, so the god is reduced to living the the shell of a small turtle protected by the only believer.
it is pretty good reading, and it leads to some very interesting thinking.
