[ExI] de Waal

[William Flynn Wallace]

Show me the data that religious beliefs are different socially and
genetically from other beliefs and attitudes.  In any case you cannot show
me that there are beliefs that do not change. bill w

On Sat, Mar 3, 2018 at 1:56 PM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:

> John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote
>
> > Tell me what the hell ?free will? means and I?ll tell you if I?m a
> proponent of it or not. No idea in philosophy or psychology or law has
> caused more muddled thinking than free will, it is an idea so bad its not
> even wrong.
>
> I am with John on "so bad it's in even wrong."  Marvin Minsky has
> probably put this subject to bed better than anyone else.
>
> I certainly didn't expect this subject to degenerate into a muddle.
> It's obvious people have some variable but widespread propensity for
> being infested with religion, and it's different from normal passing
> on of information about the world from generation to generation.
>
> It also is quite clear there is a genetic basis.  Mormons were
> selected in this regard a few generations back.  People of this
> genetic background are considerably over represented in Scientology.
> It also may have to do with brain reward chemistry because
> Scientologists are considerably more likely than the general
> population to be smokers.
>
> Assuming religiosity has a genetic basis, it's either something that
> was directly selected or a side effect of some trait that was directly
> selected.  I tend to go with the latter.
>
> Given the prevalence, it must have been a selection on the similar
> level of intensity as that which gives us the human trait of
> capture-bonding.  Since religions are (at the heart of them)
> xenophobic memes, of what survival use was it in our stone-age past
> (at least under some situations) to be susceptible to xenophobic
> memes?
>
> Keith
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