I'm familiar with Hericlitus, and have studied the pre-Socratics, at least what's left of them. The article notes that materialism started to form piecemeal in the "last three millennia", which includes Hericlitus. When I say ancient, on the other hand, I mean really ancient, like 5000-10000 years; as well as what remnants of it exist in written record, what anthropologists studied in tribal cultures, and what has carried over into modern religions. The last 3000 years are a transitional phase.

Thanks

Thanks, I was motivated by the problem that the same mind that conducts science also created animist beliefs. The two are difficult to reconcile if you assume they are incompatible.

Should I have used weasel words like "many men"? I figured that went without saying. The purpose of the example is not to belittle anyone since I myself don't sympathize with the sentiment, it's to indicate where this analogy historically came from. Ironically I was drawing attention to its sexism - that men have historically set the terms of the meanings of words.

More importantly, do you disagree with the explanation of why "Luck" has been equated with "lady"? Because clearly this is a cultural pattern, and it seems to beg for a socio-cultural explanation.

Edit: I updated the post to be clearer about the intent.

Edit2: I felt bad about being abrasive and decided to change the language of my comment.

Analogy: "a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification".

Analogy doesn't mean metaphor. It is an attempt to connect two things. Another word people use is "copula" but that doesn't apply to similies.

I suspect you didn't stop reading because of that. You stopped reading because you suspected this was going to be a science-bashing piece. I hope you decide to give the post another shot.

Edit: I felt bad about my abrasive language and changed it.