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Member (Idle past 1433 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
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Author | Topic: What is the evolutionary advantage to religion? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RAZD Member (Idle past 1433 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
So, as the year draws to a close (or has already finished for those who use a solstice new year marker), one has to wonder ...
What is the evolutionary advantage to religion?{I have changed the previously very vague topic title ("The Advantage ... what is it?") to the above phrase. - Adminnemooseus} why it has evolved can be discussed elsewhere (there are studies that point to it being a co-evolved trait with sexually selected ability for song and dance) ... what I want to know is what is the advantage given by religion(s) that allows it to pesist. enjoy. (ps - admin: I see this as posted on {biological evolution} as it really pertains to evolution of a trait rather than what the trait is.) This message has been edited by Adminnemooseus, 12-28-2004 12:28 AM {edited to turn on e-mail notices} This message has been edited by RAZD, 01-03-2005 19:32 AM we are limited in our ability to understand by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}
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AdminNosy Administrator Posts: 4754 From: Vancouver, BC, Canada Joined: |
Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1433 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
and we're off
thank you kind sir.
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contracycle Inactive Member |
quote: For the purveyor of snake oil, the fruits of other peoples legitimate labours. Thats all. We often think that religion has to be advantageous to the whole society, but it does not.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Religion gives hope of an after life. Nobody wants to cease to exist.
But the evolutionary advantage? This would mean there would have to be a genetic tendency toward religious belief in certain people, and that this tends to be carried on through the generations. Perhaps I don't understand the topic.
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Ben! Member (Idle past 1426 days) Posts: 1161 From: Hayward, CA Joined: |
First, I found a topic that seems to be along the same line:
Can Evolution explain this? (Re: The biological evolution of religious belief) Second, I wrote a reply about Dr. Robert Sapolsky's talk where he discusses religion and the dopaminergic reward system:http://EvC Forum: Stanford University Conference Videos: Brain, Mind and Emergence I thought these two things would be interesting to you.
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 505 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
Religion is a quick and easy way to get a moral system going in order to have a working society. Instead of coming up with philosophical concepts, all you have to do is threaten the people by saying, "Do this or enjoy eternal damnation."
Religion persists because, again, it is quick and easy. "Goddunit" is the only thing you need to learn and it is more preferable to many people over spending years learning philosophy or science. This can be demonstrated by this very forum. The fact that most YEC's that have visited this place are either crackpots or stupid people should tell you something. The ones that are a little better than what I just described tend to misrepresent scientific and philosophical concepts (perhaps they read something out of a flier and thought they've learned everything there is to know about those concepts?). Natural Selection tends to give advantage to the systems with the least complicated design yet have the most efficient yields. Take the male breasts/nipples for example. Religion is a quick and easy way to give one a sense of know-it-all. Why bother spending a life time studying complex scientific mechanisms when all you have to do is read the scripture and say "goddunit" to your 6 year old when he asks a question? Added by edit. Besides, it justifies a lot of hate that people have. Slavery was justified by religion. Genocide was justified by religion. Racism was justified by religion. Sexism was and still is justified by religion. Homophobia was and still is justified by religion. I wouldn't be surprised if a future nuclear holocaust will be justified by religion. All in all, religion can so easily replace human reason and science for a simple reason: People have a reason for feeling bigger than other people and such a feeling is like the feeling you get from smoking pot or sniffing glue. This message has been edited by Lam, 12-28-2004 20:38 AM
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1.61803 Member (Idle past 1532 days) Posts: 2928 From: Lone Star State USA Joined: |
I dont know about the glue thing but pot makes ya paranoid and give ya the uncontrollable urge to eat a bag of cheetos. The point you make about telling the 6 year old "goddunit" is a good one. So many people I know tell me that I should not bother with all the inquiry about the nature of reality and the search for a reason de entre'
I am met with people quoting Deuteronomy The secret things are mine says God. But the very next line is: Except those things which I reveal to you, which shall be yours and your childrens. That sounds to me like God wanting human kind to search and desire to know how conciousness came from matter, how the universe operates and how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Happy New year Lam. "One is punished most for ones virtues" Fredrick Neitzche
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Gilgamesh Inactive Member |
what I want to know is what is the advantage given by religion(s) that allows it to pesist. Theists often have more offspring. I think it was Stephen Ben Yeshua who argued convingly with me on this site that his beliefs were evolutionarily superior to mine because he had many more offspring. Christianity in particular emphasises very early marriage, traditional family structures and the indoctrination of children into the religion. IMO religion also an advantage in battle. Those who are fearful of death, ironically, often do not fight as well as those who believe a God is assisting them and will provide them with paradise if they die for the cause.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Lam writes: Religion persists because, again, it is quick and easy. "Goddunit" is the only thing you need to learn and it is more preferable to many people over spending years learning philosophy or science. This can be demonstrated by this very forum. The fact that most YEC's that have visited this place are either crackpots or stupid people should tell you something. The ones that are a little better than what I just described tend to misrepresent scientific and philosophical concepts (perhaps they read something out of a flier and thought they've learned everything there is to know about those concepts?). Yes, yes, but what has this to do with evolution? That communities that produce these stupid religious people tend to survive while the smart ones don't?
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 505 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
Well, if this isn't an indication that the stupid people are trying to eliminate the rest of us and take over the world, I don't know what is.
quote: quote: quote:
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PerfectDeath Inactive Member |
in my opinion as our species evolved out in the african savanas we began to evolve our sense of reason and understanding... this allowed us to be creative but it also gave us the grim understanding of death.
every animal fears death but homosaipians know that it is comming and because of that we creat ways of comforting ourselves... so religion is a way for us to avoid that double bladed evolution. thats generaly why you see athiests becoming religious when they get into their old age. and because i belive that i don't mind it when religious people belive in religion because we are cognitive misers; therefor, if it stresses us to think of it we find a way to avoid it (another evolutionary benifit and flaw) and if this didn't answer your question then i didn't read it right :'(
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Andya Primanda Inactive Member |
Actually, yes. A community of religious people [not necessarily stupid] is more tight-knit against a community with no common belief. In the days of bands, tribes, and city-states, this could be a large advantage. Just label the next neighbouring tribe as 'Godless heathens' and see your fellow tribesmen raise hell on them...
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coffee_addict Member (Idle past 505 days) Posts: 3645 From: Indianapolis, IN Joined: |
The Puritans also used the same slogan to unite, and in many cases, control their people.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Hey Lam, I thought this thread was supposed to be about whether or not there was any evolutionary advantage to being religious, not how horrible being religious is.
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