God is in your mind?

Guybrush · 05-15-2012, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitch

I find the tests and results quite interesting but not really convinced about the terminology used. It looks like they relate 'intuition' to system 1 (and especially religious faith). Intuition can get a bit vague at times as it encompasses many other things such as a quick impulse on fixing a computer problem. All of it is based on your previous cognitive experience. I'm guessing that if you were to witness something strange, your first impulse would be to examine and reason it and not turn to the supernatural.

The advancements in civilization and science in the past what? few thousand years is still extremely small in evolutionary terms for the brain to expand its prefrontal cortex where large percentage of the decision making activities take place. We also don't require the 'flight or fight' mechanism as much as before. It does seem strange though (or maybe even explains a lot) that when I read these religious texts, a lot of it seems to be based on fear - fear of dark, fear of death, fear of the unknown, sometimes even fear of the known, like the origin of our species....and when many of it gives the impression that it has the answers to everything, I find that it explaining absolutely nothing whatsoever.

I think if one watches something "strange", the first impulse might be for the brain to assess whether what you're seeing can be a threat to you or not. Whether or not it is will likely be determined by intuition because that's quicker which can then lead to a quicker appropriate fear response which will motivate you to remove yourself from danger.

Anyways, about texts based on fear, meme theory explains that quite easily. In a way, ideas can be compared to genes. They are able to replicate from one mind to another. Incompatible ideas (ex. there is a god / there is no god) compete against eachother for a limited resource which is a finite amount of minds that can possess them and the "fitness" of any idea is determined part by what sort of environment the idea exists in. Religious ideas on the whole have lower fitness in an environment where those ideas can convincingly be replaced by scientific ideas which promote critical thinking.

Ideas that can stir emotional responses may have an advantage over ideas which do not. Ideas (or "memes") can also work together or co-exist in a way that raises fitness for all of the cooperating ideas. For example the idea that there is a God and the idea that there is a hell will probably be better in the competitive mindscape if they can combine to create the idea that there is a God and not believing in him/her/it will send you to hell after you die. This is a very quick description of something you could read a whole book about, but generally speaking, such a religious combo-idea would likely be able to outcompete an idea that there is a God .. but it doesn't affect your well-being whether or not you believe in him/her/it.

So, ideas that appeal to fear and other emotional responses replicate efficiently in the mindscape as they are generally more competitive.