[extropy-chat] Transhumanism: Teilhard de Chardin - Truth or Dare

[David McFadzean]

From: <CurtAdams at aol.com>

> I really liked Boyer's book and the idea that many characteristics of religion
> arise from how human minds are geared up for survival.  But I was very
> unconvinced that religion is *entirely* an accident of how we're geared up.

I don't think that was Boyer's point. He is saying that the evolved systems
in the human mind provide a very fertile breeding ground for supernatural
memes, so rather than religion being entirely an accident it is pretty
much inevitable given human nature. In other words, it would be truly
remarkable if humans didn't have religions for the same reasons it would
be highly unlikely if humans didn't have any sort of music. The fact that
some of us are non-religious or non-musical doesn't change the fact.
Nor would it be a less credible theory if it turned out that individual
dispositions toward religion or music was linked to genes. The fact that
some people become very attached to their religion (or music) doesn't seem
relevant either.

David