Straw Dogs - John Gray

Question 1

What is the idea of progress based on, and what is the forbidden truth contained in the biblical myth of the Fall of Man?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 1

The idea of progress is based on the belief that the growth of knowledge and the advance of the species go together. The forbidden truth contained in the biblical myth of the Fall of Man is that knowledge does not make us free; it leaves us prey to every kind of folly.

Question 2

Can political action deliver humanity from its natural condition?

What are political programmes according to the author?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 2

No, political action cannot deliver humanity from its natural condition.

Political programmes are expedients, modest devices for coping with recurring evils.

Question 3

What has happened to failed utopias in the twenty-first century?

Define moribund

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 3

Failed utopias have left behind grandiose ruins, with the Right becoming the home of the utopian imagination after the Left became moribund. (In danger of dying out)

Question 4

How will the power conferred on humanity by new technologies be used, according to the author?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 4

The power conferred on humanity by new technologies will be used to commit atrocious crimes against it.

Question 5

What is the main driving force behind how humans use what they know, according to the author?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 5

Humans use what they know to meet their most urgent needs, even if the result is ruin.

Question 6

What motivates humans to act during times of desperation, according to the author?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 6

During times of desperation, humans act to protect their offspring, to revenge themselves on enemies, or simply to give vent to their feelings.

Question 7

What does John Gray mean when he says, ‘a zoo is a better window from which to look out of the human world than a monastery?’

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 7

In the book Straw Dogs, John Gray uses the metaphor of a zoo and a monastery to compare two different ways of understanding human existence and our relationship to the world around us.
Gray suggests that a monastery, with its emphasis on contemplation and detachment from the world, offers a limited and distorted view of reality. Monks may strive for spiritual transcendence and seek to rise above the mundane concerns of everyday life, but this comes at the cost of a deeper understanding of the natural world and the place of human beings within it.
On the other hand, Gray suggests that a zoo provides a more honest and realistic view of the world, by allowing us to observe the behavior of other animals more closely. By observing animals, we can gain a better appreciation for the diversity and complexity of the natural world, and better understand our place within it.
So when Gray says A zoo is a better window from which to look out of the human world than a monastery, he is arguing that we can learn more about ourselves and our relationship to the world by observing the natural world around us, rather than by retreating into an isolated and insulated spiritual realm. (Although of course zoos are not ‘natural’ in the usually understood sense…)

Question 8

How do traditional cultures and hunter-gatherer societies view humans’ relationship with nature, according to the author?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 8

Traditional cultures and hunter-gatherer societies view humans’ relationship with nature as one of belonging and sharing a common destiny with other living things.

Question 9

According to religious fundamentalists, what is the chief source of modern disenchantment?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 9

According to religious fundamentalists, the chief source of modern disenchantment is the power of science, which has supplanted religion as the chief source of authority, but at the cost of making human life accidental and insignificant.

Question 10

What is the power of science, and how does it compare to the power of the Church in the past?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 10

The power of science is the only institution that can claim authority today, and like the Church in the past, it has the power to destroy or marginalize independent thinkers.

Question 11

Why does science censor thinkers who stray too far from current orthodoxies?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 11

Science censors thinkers who stray too far from current orthodoxies to preserve the comforting illusion of a single established worldview, which is the chief source of science’s appeal.

… not sure if this is true

Question 12

What did Socrates believe about the examined life, and why?
He thought the true an the good were..?
He thought that beyond the visible world was..?
When humans live the unexamined life..?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 12

Socrates believed that the examined life is best because he thought the true and the good were one and the same: there is a changeless reality beyond the visible world, and it is perfect. When humans live the unexamined life, they run after illusions.

Question 13

What did Schopenhauer believe about history?

Schopenhauer believed that what history relates is in fact only the ognl , yehva , and nfdoesuc d…. of h……. .

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 13

Schopenhauer believed that what history relates is in fact only the long, heavy, and confused dream of mankind.

Question 14

What is the Christian prejudice regarding the meaning of human history, and why is it problematic? It’s like what (analogy)?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 14

The Christian prejudice regarding the meaning of human history is the idea that history must make sense. This is problematic because looking for meaning in history is like looking for patterns in clouds, and as with other animals, some lives are happy, others wretched, and none have a meaning that lies beyond themselves.

Question 15

According to Nietzsche, why is looking for meaning in human history absurd?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 15

According to Nietzsche, looking for meaning in human history is absurd because humans are animals, and there can be no such thing as the history of humanity, only the lives of particular humans. If we speak of the history of the species at all, it is only to signify the unknowable sum of these lives.

Question 16

What is the relationship between our conscious awareness and what we ‘know’?

“Our senses have been c……. so that our lives can flow more easily. Yet we rely on our pr.-c……. view of the world in everything we do. To equate what we know with what we learn though conscious awareness is a c……. e…. .”

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 16

Our senses have been censored so that our lives can flow more easily. Yet we rely on our preconscious view of the world in everything we do. To equate what we know with what we learn though conscious awareness is a cardinal error.

Question 17

We are all bundles of s……… . The unified, continuous self that we encounter in everyday experience belongs in M… (………). We are programmed to perceive identity in ourselves, when in truth there is only change. We are hardwired for the illusion of self.

The statement above is rooted in the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, which is a school of Hindu philosophy that emphasizes the non-dual nature of reality. According to this philosophy, the universe is not composed of separate, independent entities but is a manifestation of a single, undifferentiated consciousness called Brahman. …. , on the other hand, is the illusory power of Brahman that creates the appearance of multiplicity and separation.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 17

We are all bundles of sensations. The unified, continuous self that we encounter in everyday experience belongs in Maya (illusion). We are programmed to perceive identity in ourselves, when in truth there is only change. We are hardwired for the illusion of self.

The statement above is rooted in the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, which is a school of Hindu philosophy that emphasizes the non-dual nature of reality. According to this philosophy, the universe is not composed of separate, independent entities but is a manifestation of a single, undifferentiated consciousness called Brahman. Maya, on the other hand, is the illusory power of Brahman that creates the appearance of multiplicity and separation.

Question 18

What is the Buddhist perspective on our perceptual habits? We tune out..? And then we solidify the r……. into di…… me…. ob….. .

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 18

In order to help us live, the mind censors the senses; but as a result we inhabit a world of shadows. As the contemporary Buddhist meditation teacher Gunaratana has put it: ‘Our human perceptual habits are remarkably stupid. … We tune out 99 percent of the sensory stimuli we actually receive , and we solidify the remainder into discrete mental objects . Then we react to those mental objects in programmed habitual ways.’

Question 19

What inference can be made from the fact that no other creature has contested the claim that man is the noblest creature?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 19

Human exceptionalism is a human construct that reflects our own biases and values rather than an objective reality.

Gray argues that the idea of human exceptionalism rests on a flawed understanding of the natural world and our place within it. It is an anthropocentric perspective that places humans at the center of the universe, and sees the natural world as existing solely to serve our needs and desires.

In contrast, Gray advocates for a more ecocentric perspective, which recognizes that humans are just one part of a complex and interconnected ecosystem. From this perspective, the idea that humans are the noblest creature seems arbitrary and self-serving, rather than grounded in any objective reality.

So while it is true that other animals cannot directly contest human claims of superiority, Gray’s point is that the idea of human exceptionalism is ultimately a human construct, and one that we need to critically examine in order to achieve a more balanced and sustainable relationship with the natural world.

Question 20

When we have ‘moral intuitions’ they tend to be felt ..? But they are also..?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 20

Intensely felt, but also shallow and transient.

Question 21

What do liberal societies owe their delicate sensibilities to?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 21

War and empire.

Question 22

According to Taoists, what does the good life mean?

Living ____________ , according to ___ _______ .

(e………. / n……)

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 22

Living effortlessly, according to our natures.

Question 23

What are some conflicts of human instincts?

Humans crave security, but they are easily..?
they are peace-loving animals, but they have an ..?
They are drawn to thinking, but at the same time they fear how unsettling..?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 23

Humans crave security, but they are easily bored; they are peace-loving animals, but they have an itch for violence; they are drawn to thinking, but at the same time they hate and fear how unsettling the process off thinking can be…

Question 24

What is the gift that humans have for self-deception?

The gift for self-deception is the ability to th…. in ig……. of their n…… .

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 24

The gift for self-deception is the ability to thrive in ignorance of their natures.

Question 25

According to Schopenhauer, what is the essence of humans?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 25

Schopenhauer believed that we are at one with other animals in our innermost essence, and like other animals, we are embodiments of universal Will, the struggling, suffering energy that animates everything in the world.

Question 26

What did Nietzsche show regarding some of the virtues we most admire?

They are sub……. of mo….. - such as cr….. and rese…… - we most strongly c…… .

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 26

Nietzsche showed that some of the virtues we most admire are sublimations of motives – such as cruelty and resentment – we most strongly condemn.

Question 27

Is the technological pursuit of immortality a scientific project?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 27

The technological pursuit of immortality is not a scientific project because it is based on the assumption that death is a problem to be solved, which is a philosophical and ethical question rather than a scientific one. Science can certainly help us understand the mechanisms of aging and disease, and develop ways to extend healthy lifespan, but it cannot answer the question of whether or not immortality is desirable or morally justifiable. The pursuit of immortality is also based on the assumption that human beings are fundamentally different from other animals, and that we have a unique destiny or purpose in the universe, which is a metaphysical and religious claim, not a scientific one. Therefore, the pursuit of immortality is a philosophical and ethical project that involves questions of meaning, value, and purpose, rather than a purely scientific one that deals with facts and mechanisms.

Question 28

What does science allow humans to satisfy?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 28

Science enables humans to satisfy their needs.

Question 29

Is there progress in ethics according to science and history, and the view of every one of the world’s religions?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 29

According to science and history, and the view of every one of the world’s religions, there is progress in knowledge, but not in ethics.

Question 30

What is the truth that Dostoevsky puts in the mouth of the Grand Inquisitor?

‘Humankind has never ….. ……. , and n…. w… .’

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 30

The truth that Dostoevsky puts in the mouth of the Grand Inquisitor is that humankind has never sought freedom, and never will. The secular religions of modern times tell us that humans yearn to be free, but it is rare that individuals value their freedom more than the comfort that comes with servility, and rarer still for whole peoples to do so.

Question 31

What is the perennial romance of tyranny?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 31

The perennial romance of tyranny comes from its promising its subjects a life more interesting than any they can contrive for themselves.

Question 32

How do drug users view happiness and fulfillment?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 32

Drug users view happiness as beyond reach; fulfillment is found not in daily life, but in escaping from it.

Question 33

Why do societies founded on a faith in progress wage war on those who seek an artificial happiness in drugs?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 33

Such societies cannot admit the normal unhappiness of human life and thus, they are bound to wage war on those who seek an artificial happiness in drugs.

Question 34

What do religious cultures and their humanist successors promise their followers?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 34

Religious cultures promise another life in which all tears would be wiped away, while their humanist successors affirm that everyone can be happy even in the near future.

Question 35

How science has replaced religion and become the new source of hope and miracles.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 35

The statement suggests that science has replaced religion as a source of hope and miracles for people. In the past, people used to turn to religion for answers to questions that could not be explained by science. However, with the advancement of science and technology, people now have faith in scientific progress and its ability to solve problems that were once considered impossible. For example, people once believed that immortality was a concept reserved for the divine, but today some believe that science can make immortality a reality through various technologies and advancements.

Question 36

Why morality is transient and how we thrive on conditions that morality condemns.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 36

This statement suggests that morality is not an absolute, unchanging concept but is shaped by the conditions of society and culture. It argues that the rules and norms that govern human behavior are not universal and can change over time. For instance, in some societies, it may be considered immoral to eat meat, while in others, it is perfectly acceptable. Moreover, the statement suggests that humans can thrive in situations that may be considered immoral or unethical by society. For example, a person who grows up in a violent neighborhood may develop a sense of survival instincts that could be condemned by society but have enabled them to thrive in that environment.

Question 37

Why Virtues and Vices always depend on context.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 37

This statement suggests that virtues and vices are not fixed concepts, but their meaning and relevance change depending on the context. What is considered virtuous or good in one situation may not be in another. Similarly, what is considered bad or evil in one context may not be in another. For example, courage is often considered a virtue, but in certain situations, it may lead to recklessness and danger. Similarly, dishonesty is generally considered a vice, but in certain situations, such as when hiding from an oppressive regime, it may be considered a virtue.

Question 38

How science has replaced religion and become the new source of hope and miracles. Give historical examples.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 38

The Scientific Revolution: During the Scientific Revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries, science began to replace religion as the dominant source of knowledge and hope for humanity. Scientists like Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton made groundbreaking discoveries that challenged the traditional religious worldview and paved the way for a new era of scientific inquiry.

Question 39

Why morality is transient and how we thrive on conditions that morality condemns. Give historical examples.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 39

The rise of totalitarian regimes: The rise of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, exemplify the idea that people are willing to trade their freedom for the promise of security and an interesting life. These regimes promised their subjects a life more interesting than any they could contrive for themselves, and many people were willing to accept the drab truth of tyranny in exchange for this promise.

Question 40

Why Virtues and Vices always depend on context? Give historical examples.

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 40

The counterculture of the 1960s: The counterculture of the 1960s, which was characterized by drug use and a rejection of traditional morality, exemplifies the idea that morality is transient and that we thrive on conditions that morality condemns. The counterculture rejected the traditional values of their parents’ generation and embraced new forms of expression and personal freedom, including drug use. The French Revolution: The French Revolution exemplifies the idea that virtues and vices always depend on context. The revolutionaries saw themselves as fighting for liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were seen as virtuous ideals. However, their methods of achieving these goals, including violence and terror, were seen as vices by many. The revolution shows how the same actions can be seen as virtuous or vicious depending on the context.

Question 41

Can you expand upon your use of the word ‘interesting’ with regard to totalitarian regimes?

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 41

The rise of totalitarian regimes: The rise of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, exemplify the idea that people are willing to trade their freedom for the promise of security and an interesting life. These regimes promised their subjects a life more interesting than any they could contrive for themselves, and many people were willing to accept the drab truth of tyranny in exchange for this promise.

Question 42

What are some rationalist critiques of religion?

So what about the rationalist critiques of religion written by Enlightenment atheists like …. and ……. ?

Or the withering attacks on Christianity by T….. J…….. and T….. P….?

What about all the aspects of our Christian heritage that Peterson doesn’t emphasize, like the virulent anti-Semitism that infected the Third Reich, the scriptural warrants for slavery and genocide, and the savage religious wars that preceded the Enlightenment?

Why has moral progress so often required our civilization to renounce the dogmas and dictates of the Judeo-Christian tradition Peterson reveres?

PERSONAL NOTE

Straw Dogs - John Gray

Answer 42

So what about the rationalist critiques of religion written by Enlightenment atheists like Hume and Spinoza?

Or the withering attacks on Christianity by Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine?

What about all the aspects of our Christian heritage that Peterson doesn’t emphasize, like the virulent anti-Semitism that infected the Third Reich, the scriptural warrants for slavery and genocide, and the savage religious wars that preceded the Enlightenment?

Why has moral progress so often required our civilization to renounce the dogmas and dictates of the Judeo-Christian tradition Peterson reveres?

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