[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 21:40:54 05/29/07
This half hour video from the University of Toronto was broadcast on TV Ontario (Canadian Public Television) in 2004, as the 10th of a 13-part series dealing with mythology and neuroscience. It is based on the book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (www. mapsofmeaning.com).
Theme: Two fundamental reactions to the terrible and uncertain conditions of life obtain. The first is dramatically represented by the figure of Cain in Genesis. The second is represented by Abel. Cain is resentful and unwilling to change, even though he is suffering and even though he has been told by the divine that the unbearable part of his suffering is self-generated. Abel, by contrast, follows the dictates of his conscience, makes the proper sacrifices to necessity, and establishes an acceptable relationship with the conditions of existence. Cain's refusal to admit to his error ultimately makes him vengeful, homicidal and destructive, as he rebels agains his self-produced fate. Cain is the father of all torturers and tyrants.
