Religion is a product of evolution, software suggests

http://tinyurl.com/6l4b2c

"God may work in mysterious ways, but a simple computer program may explain how religion evolved

By distilling religious belief into a genetic predisposition to pass along unverifiable information, the program predicts that religion will flourish. However, religion only takes hold if non-believers help believers out – perhaps because they are impressed by their devotion.

"If a person is willing to sacrifice for an abstract god then people feel like they are willing to sacrifice for the community," says James Dow, an evolutionary anthropologist at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, US, who wrote the program – called Evogod (download the code here).

Dow is by no means the first scientist to take a stab at explaining how religion emerged. Theories on the evolution of religion tend toward two camps. One argues that religion is a mental artefact, co-opted from brain functions that evolved for other tasks."

I actually had Dr. Dow for a couple courses back when I was getting my BA in Anthropology at Oakland. nice to see he's still around, he was a really good prof and had thought-provoking classes.

Not sure that something like a predisposition to believe in unreal information is a genetic trait, but it's a good way to start going about examining the development of the cultural trait.

Everyone knows it was the mushroom stew!
:hide:

And it is so rare that a Phd would ever risk it.

Anthropologists, botanists, biologists and folklorists have been studying and writing about this idea for well over a century. There are credentialed scientists out there still in fact, probably just no one you know personally. Riddle me this batman! Where do Santa's flying reindeer come from? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnobotanist
:think:

Carlos Castaneda being the most prominent although nost young people probably do not know his name. He became a best selling author in the 60s and 70s after his first book "The Teachings of Don Juan" and went on to write a whole series of books that most hip people that lived in that time know about.

Flying reindeer? Anything is possible if you have the right frame of mind.
Even Lucy in the sky with diamonds.

Did you attend UCLA when he was in grad school there? It was disappointing to find out he made up that whole Don Juan story, wasn't it? Anyway, I'm ambivalent about his scholarly contributions and wouldn't have used him as an example in this thread. Though on a more positive note, I really enjoyed reading Journey to Ixtlan and got a lot out of it. What is a Shaman if not a trickster, eh?

Answer to the riddle: Hallucinogenic mushrooms grow in the droppings of Finland's reindeer herds, and so over the centuries they've been revered as totemic animals and shamanic guardians (religion in the oldest sense). Which brings us to wonder about the ancient antecedents of that fat little red-clad elf who always seems to be about...

LSD? Well, that's a horse of different color, isn't it? :toast:

And you are right Journey to ixtlan was his best.
But it matters not to me whether he made up the character of Don Juan or not. The point of those stories is missed by most people because it deals with belief.
And yes shamans are tricksters and are amused at the thought of shattering ones belief system. But at the bottom of it all is truth which takes real courage and faith to get at.

Did not know that about reindeer but I know mushrooms do grow in cow dung in some parts of this country, particularly in the south.

I saw something interisting...an interview with the director of a movie made in the 60s called "The Trip" about LSD. The Director wanted to experience a real trip so he could make a better movie about it so he asked Jack Nicholson who was a writer then, to fix him up. and he said that he had a vision that looked at first like a sailing ship in the distance but as he got closer he could see that it was a woman covered in jewels. Cant you just imagine how he felt when later Paul McCartney wrote "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"

Thanks for passing it on. A woman covered in jewels - yes. Beautiful!

As for truth, I've heard people talk about it and around it all my life. I'm sure the word means something special to each person who uses it. Courage and faith on the other hand are what get us through regardless. As it is, beauty is truth enough for me.

And welcome to DU
You should be able to find some interesting conversations here.

:yourock:

of several different, moving colors.

mark

...and when the harm done by religious beliefs isn't immediately visible, they will tend to survive as valuable cultural glue.

... blue screens are a product of Microsoft?

:evilgrin: