What’s an example of someone using a flawed widely believed mental model (understanding of the world) with terrible consequences. (E.g. our belief the world was flat {flawed model of reality} slowed human progress by preventing trade and exploration).
Western civilization is built on top of a materialist reality (Descartes, Newton, Darwin, et) leading to a philosophy of brutal competition and survival. Questioning that foundational belief may lead to interesting possibilities and uncover certain mistakes.