“Western religions, all the leading religions, have this schizotypalism shot through them from top to bottom.”

— Robert M. Sapolsky

Emperor Has No Clothes Award acceptance speech (2003)
Context: Western religions, all the leading religions, have this schizotypalism shot through them from top to bottom. It's that same exact principle: it's great having one of these guys, but we sure wouldn't want to have three of them in our tribe. Overdo it, and our schizotypalism in the Western religious setting is what we call a "cult," and there you are in the realm of a Charles Manson or a David Koresh or a Jim Jones. You can only do post-hoc forensic psychiatry on Koresh and Jones, but Charles Manson is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. But get it just right, and people are gonna get the day off from work on your birthday for millennia to come. [laughter] This is great! I think this is the first time I've ever said that line without somebody getting up and leaving in a huff from the audience. It's very nice being here.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Robert M. Sapolsky 25

American endocrinologist 1957

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“Western religions, all the leading religions, have this schizotypalism shot through them from top to bottom.”

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Robert M. Sapolsky 25

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