I thought
I'd put together a brief collection of my thoughts on the
implications of some genetic basis for the belief in Gods.
This
is as a result of looking at articles like the following.
And
I'm just reading Sam Harris' book “The End of Faith: Religion,
Terror and the future of Reason”, which touches on the subject.
In
chapter 2 “The Nature of belief”, Harris discusses the reasons
that are given for belief in Gods and lays out why these are not
acceptable. It is not enough to believe in God because it makes one
feel good or because it feels natural. There must be an evidence
based reason, as we have evidence based reasons for everything else
we believe. He gives the example of believing there is a large
diamond buried in his backyard – it may make you feel better to
believe this, but there is very little reason for doing so.
As
an aside, I love the way Harris calls Pascal's Wager “an
epistemological Ponzi scheme”. Wonderful stuff. I can just imagine
Pascal jokingly cold-calling people to try and get their investment
in a fund that only offers returns contingent on his success to lure
many others to give him their funds. A house of cards with shaky
foundations, if ever there was one.
If,
as indeed seems to be the case, we are genetically pre-disposed for
belief, I do not accept at all that is any kind of evidence for
the truth of the claim for God's existence. In fact, it suggests
the opposite to me.
I
do not have any problem with the hard-wired hypothesis being true.
But I think the most likely, and most parsimonious reason is not
because God created us that way, but rather, because it is either an
evolved neural adaptation, or a cultural meme. Perhaps stemming from
the notion of the Alpha male, a leader of the tribe, that may have
guided the earliest groups of Homo Sapiens and his complete authority
leading to groups that worked in unison, and so were able to survive,
despite the inequality. I really like Rosa Rubicondior's exposition
of this idea.
Going
back to the question of whether hard-wiring supports God's
existence, I have set out all the possible options below. Which of
the following statements is most impressive for believers to tout,
and what if anything do they say about the nature of the truth for
the existence of God?
a)
We are NOT pre-disposed to believe in a God, and most people do NOT
believe in God
b)
We are NOT pre-disposed to believe in a God, and most people DO
believe in God
c)
We ARE pre-disposed to believe in a God, and most people do NOT
believe in God
d)
We ARE pre-disposed to believe in a God, and most people DO believe
in God
Statement
d) is the true statement as far as we know. But this is just
following what comes naturally. I can't see any real surprises here.
The most impressive statement for believers would be b) , NOT d),
because if b) were true then our belief would have been IN SPITE of
our predisposition, not because of it; implying that there was at
least a strong human need for belief that went against our ancestral
genetic heritage.
Statistics
suggest that the Western world at least is moving towards statement
c) being true. This is a nail in the coffin for religion, because it
means despite a genetic advantage leading people towards faith, most
people are turning their backs and choosing rationality ahead of
“comfort”.
The
Daily Fail had their own predictably inane take on all this:
Whilst
I accept that it may not be possible, or even be desirable to
eliminate all irrational thought, religion represents such a
huge rotten edifice of irrationality that breaking it down
would surely still be colossally beneficial to humanity.
Superstition
though is I think another matter and I don't think we should want to
completely eliminate it for the occasional advantages it may bring.
Placebo effects, psychology, and the power of positive thought –
these are potentially powerful notions that warrant more scientific
exploration. And of course we need to maintain a sense of community,
and purpose for people, especially those who may be exiting from
religious belief.
Thanks for the shout-out for my blog. Glad you like it.
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