Evolution is no longer the only optimization process in this world—human societies don’t need to undergo evolution, they are intelligently designed. If you think human societies don’t develop a sense of self, just wait for the next July 4, or whatever your local day of nationalistic celebration is.
To say that a society has a sense of itself seems absurd; societies are not sensing things. How would you distinguish between a society that has a sense of itself versus one that doesn’t? By the behaviour and identity of its members? That makes as much sense as determining if I have a sense of self by surveying my neurons to see if they identify as being a part of me. A group of sensing beings ascribing to an ideology does not a new entity with a sense of self or a capacity for knowledge make.
Evolution is no longer the only optimization process in this world—human societies don’t need to undergo evolution, they are intelligently designed. If you think human societies don’t develop a sense of self, just wait for the next July 4, or whatever your local day of nationalistic celebration is.
To say that a society has a sense of itself seems absurd; societies are not sensing things. How would you distinguish between a society that has a sense of itself versus one that doesn’t? By the behaviour and identity of its members? That makes as much sense as determining if I have a sense of self by surveying my neurons to see if they identify as being a part of me. A group of sensing beings ascribing to an ideology does not a new entity with a sense of self or a capacity for knowledge make.