Is atheism a by-product of scientific discovery, and thus part of our evolution?

Question

For millenia we attributed that which we did not understand to gods. As time went on, and we discovered more and more of the true nature of the world, many, if not most of these gods became obsolete. Yet even today, many still cling to belief in god or gods. Do we so resist abandoning these beliefs because after so many thousands of years, we are now genetically predisposed to needing it? And is it possible that the atheistic realization that we no longer need a god is a long delayed step forward in the evolution of our brains toward a deeper understanding of the true nature of the universe? In other words, is religious adherence to ancient dogma holding back the progress of the human species? I'll take it one step further and ask: If we can shed our dependancy on these ancient beliefs, could we one day evolve into something akin to what we have always worshipped, thus becoming Creators ourselves...in our own image?

Answer 1

Great Question...
I am sure that man's ever increasing knowledge of the Universe has contributed to the erosion of beliefs in the supernatural. For many centuries religion has been important for mankind because of our need for explanation. It seems we, as a species, need answers to those fundamental questions that have traditionally been provided by religion and more recently (the last couple of hundred years) addressed by philosophy. I think it is a trend in more educated societies to edge away from religion. Many of the religions are going more to less developed countries to obtain believers. I think it is an important step in development of societies to progress through this stage. The burning question for the future is, given we have this epistemological need, what "system" of philosophical ideas will replace religion. Where do we derive the new ethic and morality?
I'm not sure that this realization to which you refer has any bearing on evolution of man as a species. Evolution is a process that takes huge spans of time and at this period in time there appears to be very little that can "drive" further evolution of man as a species. Remember, evolution as science currently understands it, requires some form of "pressure" to make individuals in a group more dominant and more likely to procreate. It maybe that the evolutionary next step taken by mankind will be a different kind of engine of change. I suspect that it will be one that will be a conscious decision that we make. Bio engineering would fill the bill and our knowledge of our own genetics is the fundament.
How this will play out in next couple of centuries only time will tell. Historically speaking if something can be done, chances are it will. The next most likely step is human clones. After that who knows... genetically enhanced humans? We know for us to survive as a race we must reach for the stars. Our planet will not last for ever and our bodies currently do not fair well outside of a terrestrial environment.
The rhetorical question is do we ultimately have to become something that is no longer "us." Is that something that we even want to aspire to or when the end of our world approaches will we slip quietly into oblivion because the alternative is to become something monstrous and alien.
Food for thought.

Answer 2

Biological evolution does not work that fast. But one of the most significant steps in the evolution of humans was the evolution of the brain as a "universal computer" or "blank slate" that can form any thought (true or not) without the necessity for the thought to be "hard-coded" into the brain and genetically inherited. Biological evolution has been superceded by a completely different and much faster process of intellectual progress by social interaction. See Carl Sagan's "The Dragon's of Eden." It's a great book.

Atheism is a product of philosophical or possibly scientific inquiry. In biological evolution, there is probably no intellilgent designer, whereas in philosphical & scientific inquiry each scientist or philosopher is an intelligent designer.

I'm an agnostic. I strongly doubt the fables in the Old Testament. I believe the Golden Rule is great philosophy, but not unique to religion (part of the Golden Rule, empathy, might actually have been hard-coded into the brain by biological evolution). I believe that what we have yet to learn about the universe and ourselves will be much more profound and awe-inspiring than what we already know.

Answer 3

In the past religion and magic may have been proto- or pseudo-science : use the gods to explain what you can't explain scientifically. It doesn't follow that religion has no role beside this spurious one. There are questions which religion asks that science can't answer. Evolutionary biology may explain why life developed as it did but not why there's something rather than nothing for life to develop in or on - a world or universe. The scientific side-step, 'Before Big Bang there was no universe', is just playing with words or worlds. What was Big Bang a big bang of ? Of something pre-existing. There was no universe recognisable under our laws of physics but that doesn't mean 'no universe' period. Until science can answer the question, 'why should there be something rather than nothing ?', or show the question is wrong, religion will attempt to answer it and (so far as I can make out) will not be 'holding back the progress of the human species' in doing so.

Answer 4

I think, that it is something to suggest that atheism and scientific discovery are linked. Neitszche said his "was the most scientific philosophy". The Golden Bough is a nineteenth century book on this topic...very good, but..Id just like to go on to the fact about not needing a god. This is perhaps not true, on the counts that 1. A god provides meaning in peoples lives 2. People like the God explanation3The ideas of God are appealing and 4. Religion helps to create some very nice people, Jimmy Carter is someone I admire,what I would say is the level of thought put into life determines the evolved nature of a human being. For instance, in world war 2, there were some rabbis debating the existence of god when they found themselves in a concentration camp, they looked around, and after days, weeks of thought came to one conclusion...There is no God. When they finished that day, one Rabbi spoke up and said...Let us pray. There is a great message in that story.


On the last point, whether atheism will lead to us become creators, I personally have always felt that conflict between ideas, people, beliefs, states, time has created the best and most unique expressions of human thought. I dont believe that everyone being agreed on one particular mode of thought will be beneficial....look at the history of switzerland...not many books.....then look at nineteenth century Russia.

Answer 5

No offense at al but you answer your own Q in the very first sentence of the Q.

"Confusion" is the reason many adhere to a "belief system" and certainly HOPE, that it will be a nourishing, answering experience. Obviously it isn'y for everyone.

One or more of the greatest TOOLS adding to that is the fact that DEBATE is mixed into the equation. LEARNED behaviors, attitudes, beliefs are not an inate, inert, situation.

I'd like to enjoy the situation one day in which SCIENCE and BELIEF can co-exist, much in the form of tolerance/acceptance/ perhaps some compromise, in allowing that as a species we do NOT have to follow one or ANY stated doctrine.

Believe this if noting else. Aetheistic beliefs, are still a "Belief" in a system not usually accepted by ones neighbor

Answer 6

It is said that god lives in blank areas.

For thousands of years, god has been the explanation for what we didn't know.

What causes lightening? Gods trowing bolts down from the heavens. What causes the rain? God either provides the rain to solve a drought or to punish through a flood. Why is there water? God created it. Why do some people die? God wills it. What causes diseases? God punishing his people. What cures diseases? God forgives and helps out his people.

But as science advances we see the naturalistic causes of things around us, and a belief in a god is no longer sufficient to provide the causes or reasons of things around us.

We still have many gaps in our knowledge, such as what to do about global warming. Some people pray about this, hoping god will provide answers. Other people are working on this problem, trying to figure out the underlying causes and what to do about it. I think those people will provide the answers before the people who are praying about it.

Of course, this line of reasoning does not prove that atheism is a by product of scientific discovery, perhaps some people have been born atheists well before the scientific revolution.
But it does make atheism more attractive when you have evidence on your side.

Rob

Answer 7

More and more people are becoming obese and dying before they should, is this part of evolution, too?

Change happens, that's the way it is, whether you think this particular change is good or bad is up to you, but humans are the only species to ever put effort into de-evolving. We keep people alive when their immune systems aren't up to it and cause diseases to become tougher while our weak and stupid reproduce. Does this make sense to anyone?

This particular instance may be evolution, or it may be de-evolution. You won't know until it's too late, but treating religion as true helps a lot more people than it hurts, so you might as well go with it.

Love your neighbor as yourself
Don't steal stuff
Don't murder people
Don't lie
Don't sleep with your neighbor's wife
And so on...

Basically what the Bible says is to live your life as though there will be consequences or rewards for your actions. Is it really so bad?

Personally, I have a hard time calling moving away from these time-tested rules and calling it "evolution".

Answer 8

Atheism precedes modern scientific culture by centuries. There have always been people who have not believed in the existence of gods or God or who have been agnostic, even indifferent about such things.

A scientific worldview does not by its nature necessarily lead one to the conclusion that God does not exist. I would recommend that you consider the works of John Polkinghorne in this regard.

Further, you would be hard pressed, given the evidence offered in terms of human civilization, that religion has by its nature done nothing but inhibit human progress. This is a prejudice that has been conditioned in us by modernity's sense of what religion is and what it means to be religious.
The rhetoric of your answer to own question is almost entirely conditioned by the assumptions and prejudices of ideological modernity in regards to religion. It might be a good scientific endeavor to test those pre-suppositions.

Also, the deepest understanding of the universe is illumined not simply in physical descriptions of material processes, but in the mystery that it exists, rather than not exists, and that its existence just happens to be intelligible-- and these mysteries are beyond the postulations of a merely materialistic explanation of reality to appreciate or explain.

Answer 9

hardly,but even if a by product, of what you see as evolution, through sciences, which to my knowledge is steal Questionable, the problem to understand is that the nature of this world or our own material, a/o imperfect Physical nature, isn't of the nature of God, which is the nature that create Life, and man and Human being, atheist will find anything not to believed that the God they professed and follow is the God of the matter; the God of the dark, the God's the ones who crucified God, follow, since then till know, trying to find more and more answers to their own lies. Perhaps the world have achieved evolution in the matter's of matter, but what about the evolution of the energies, that not of this world, came with God from heaven to conquest the matter's, and protect the spirit from Satan's persecution. Satan the God of the atheists, is from the World of Matter, My God is from heaven and he will be here soon to get me, I'm ready, so you to need to see clear and get ready. Creativity, is one of God essences, and yes we can create, but, not only to follow the desires of an Evil dark entity just like Satan, (The Beast = Demon man)

Answer 10

I'm a scientist and I still believe in God. Yes, science explains things well, and we know more and more every day about how things work. But that doesn't mean they couldn't have had some divine intervention. In fact, seeing how intricately things in nature and our bodies work just makes me more amazed by God that we could have evolved as we did. The chance of our life forms evolving into our current forms instead of something else, is such a ridiculously miniscule number, it's hard to exclude some divine planning.