2006-09-05 14:41:37 · 31 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
desire for meaning and eternal life
2006-09-05 14:42:29 · answer #1 · answered by s_e_e 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Religion is a good evolutionary solution to a brain that is curious about how things work. Evolution brings about neural programming that doesn't tell us how the world works, it tells us how to survive. This means that are minds have just enough information to decipher what we are sensing to determine an immediate course of action. Once the brain began requiring more information, our human ancestors didn't have any real way of figuring out the solutions. The brain defaulted to its old genetic tricks and provided a path to gain enough information to get by. This is why education is so important, because if you are not exposed to objective studies or you do not properly understand how science works you may default to a "good enough" position. Your genes don't care how smart you are or that you are right (at least in philosophical matters).
Religion continued to provide evolutionary benefit by allowing cooperation among non-family groups which game theory demonstrates will out perform rigged family hierarchies. Any organization that can facilitate networking will do better because they improve the probability that individuals of that organization can get a hold of the right people to get whatever they need done. Religions can also act as an equalizing force among stratified populations by espousing that "all people are equal in the eyes of God." This again increases the opportunities for networking.
2006-09-05 15:13:16 · answer #2 · answered by One & only bob 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Normally when we talk about Evolution we mean the evolution of genes. However, now that we have language and minds capable of abstract thinking, we have evolution of ideas. Richard Dawkins wrote a great book "The Selfish Gene" in which he coined the term Meme for ideas that take on a life of their own and propagate.
It's possible that religion conferred a biological advantage and so therefore has a genetic component, but its also possible that it has no genetic component and is only a meme.
Note that all highly successful religions follow a formula that guarantees that they will be virulent: they teach that their followers must go out and convert others, and that there are huge rewards for following the religion and huge penalties for denying the religion. That formula is pretty optimized to ensure a high conversion and retention rate.
2006-09-05 15:11:07 · answer #3 · answered by Jim L 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Humans evolved to look for explanations, there was a time when reLigion was the best explanation, then religion evolved to have "faith" because the religions the required belief even though they didn't have evidence had a better chance of surviving then the religions that require belief because they have evidence.
2006-09-05 14:46:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The humans who have evolved *don't* believe in religion. We're still waiting for the fantasy freaks to catch up with us.:)
2006-09-05 14:53:33 · answer #5 · answered by Caillech W 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Y have humans evolved so that some people don't believe in religion?
2006-09-05 14:45:33 · answer #6 · answered by Nightingale 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is evolutionarily advantageous to develop the capacity for faith in intelligent beings. If I did not have faith that my car was downstairs in the driveway, I would be panicked about how to get to work. My brain can be put into situations where misfiring or drugs can cause me to have experiences that are not tied to the real world. How else could a less informed person have interpretted this but as religion? Add that to the faith thing, and you have the seeds of religion sprouting from the mundane works of evolution.
Here's hoping this gene dies out soon.
2006-09-05 14:49:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
A belief system has nothing to do with evolution. We all have some sort of belief system that we adhere too. To be honest religions were an inevitable out come to the human existence, so much suffering goes on in our world that someone was bound to come along and try to make sense of it.
2006-09-05 14:49:19 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Possibility 1: Religion is really adaptive.
Possibility 2: Religion is a by-product of some other human trait which is adaptive.
2006-09-05 14:43:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Belief in religion is a social conditioning as opposed to evolution. When a species evolves, they undergo a physical change to better suit themselves to their environment.
2006-09-05 14:49:28 · answer #10 · answered by Stephen 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mankind has always shown a need to believe in a higher power whether real or invented and the promise of live after death. It's what makes most people lead good lives, If they realized that this is all there is, They would commit suicide.
2006-09-05 14:50:45 · answer #11 · answered by Jack of Hearts 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋