ABSTRACT
The natural beliefs of one culture seem unnatural to another. Female circumcision remains the prevalent practice in the rural areas of Egypt despite the fact that it is illegal and that intensive education programmes have been instituted. Those women who practise it and all those who advocate it regard it as natural. Until there is a change in the belief system the practice will remain. David Hume recognised that he was fortunate to be able to return to his natural beliefs when leaving his study. The only method of ridding the patient of her doubting thoughts was to take a number of physical actions that evacuated her mind, such as repeatedly flushing the toilet. Her unnatural ideas about the sun and moon were very like the cosmology of the ancient Egyptians. As the sun god's boat sailed through the underworld of dark night in order to reappear next morning, the chaos monster threatened its passage.
