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It's certainly not a secular view.

by ahoy 11y ago

hackuser 11y ago
> It's certainly not a secular view. I don't see why not. I don't know that secular people are any less prone to ignorant ideas than people who are religious.
travem 11y ago
There appears to be secular reasons behind this view in some cultures as well: > In some areas, in order to preserve cleanliness where sanitation was an issue, the right hand, as the dominant hand of most individuals, was used for eating, handling food, and social interactions. The left hand would then be used for personal hygiene, specifically after urination and defecation. These rules were imposed on all, no matter their dominant hand. Through these practices, the left hand became known as the "unclean" hand. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_against_left-handed_people#Unfavorable_cultural_associations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_against_left-handed_peopl...
cgriswald 11y ago
Prejudice against left-handedness is not a scientific view, but it is still a prevalent secular view. For instance, consider skateboarding, where skating left-footed is called "goofy." Or consider the multitude of left-handed children who were (and still are) being forced to write right-handed in the United States and other parts of the world. Also consider the Soviet Union where left-handers were also frowned upon despite atheism being the official view of the state. Prejudice against the left-handed existed before Christianity. Christianity did not invent the link between left-handedness and evil. Left-handedness did not become evil because the Devil is left-handed. The Devil is left-handed because left-handedness was considered evil.
lovich 11y ago
The word sinister used to mean left in Latin. You can still see that in things like optometry where the left eye is called Oculus Sinister. Seems like some sort of connection between left and evil is there for everyone in western culture at least, even if it started as something to do with religion http://www.thefreedictionary.com/oculus+sinister http://www.thefreedictionary.com/oculus+sinister

It's certainly not a secular view.

by ahoy 11y ago

It's certainly not a secular view.

> It's certainly not a secular view. I don't see why not. I don't know that secular people are any less prone to ignorant ideas than people who are religious.

travem 11y ago

There appears to be secular reasons behind this view in some cultures as well: > In some areas, in order to preserve cleanliness where sanitation was an issue, the right hand, as the dominant hand of most individuals, was used for eating, handling food, and social interactions. The left hand would then be used for personal hygiene, specifically after urination and defecation. These rules were imposed on all, no matter their dominant hand. Through these practices, the left hand became known as the "unclean" hand. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_against_left-handed_people#Unfavorable_cultural_associations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_against_left-handed_peopl...

cgriswald 11y ago

Prejudice against left-handedness is not a scientific view, but it is still a prevalent secular view. For instance, consider skateboarding, where skating left-footed is called "goofy." Or consider the multitude of left-handed children who were (and still are) being forced to write right-handed in the United States and other parts of the world. Also consider the Soviet Union where left-handers were also frowned upon despite atheism being the official view of the state. Prejudice against the left-handed existed before Christianity. Christianity did not invent the link between left-handedness and evil. Left-handedness did not become evil because the Devil is left-handed. The Devil is left-handed because left-handedness was considered evil.

lovich 11y ago

The word sinister used to mean left in Latin. You can still see that in things like optometry where the left eye is called Oculus Sinister. Seems like some sort of connection between left and evil is there for everyone in western culture at least, even if it started as something to do with religion http://www.thefreedictionary.com/oculus+sinister http://www.thefreedictionary.com/oculus+sinister