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Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Advantageous?
- pg 16y agoIt certainly was at at least one stage in history. Before nation states, a common religion could unify a large army that would otherwise be divided by tribal/ethnic loyalties. It did for the Byzantine army after Constantine's conversion, and worked spectacularly well a few hundred years later for the armies of the Caliphs.
- lotharbot 16y ago> "Unfortunately it's not possible now to rewind the movie, so to speak, and see what actually happened. So these speculations will remain just that: speculations." I wish every ev-psych article made this point.
- robg 16y agoOne contradiction I have yet to resolve from the neo-Darwinians: The universality of language is taken as a precondition for our humanity and a legitimate form of scientific study. Yet the universality of religion is taken as an exaptation. The problem for me is that both arguments rely on the same limited evidence. In fact, the evolution of religion may have better concrete evidence if we consider the appearance of human burials. That's at least one place where I'm thankful for religious influences. Saying goodbye is deeply symbolic and I can't imagine what humanity would look like without some form of this basic rite. Don't get me wrong. Language is extremely important for our cognitive abilities. But while religion may seem more superficial, especially in modern traditions, I don't know how to see humanity without it - past or future.