The Biological Value of Religion
August 24, 2014 at 5:30 pm
(This post was last modified: August 24, 2014 at 5:33 pm by Mudhammam.)
As my studies have taken me to likes of Immanuel Kant and William James, I have recently felt compelled to soften my stance towards religion, in its broadest sense, and taken as a whole. I know that is a very general statement so I will attempt to clarify, though remaining brief in my present comments.
While clearly there are thousands of religions with contradicting creeds, to a great degree there is a common thread that runs through them: an uneasiness, that is, there is something wrong about mankind as he naturally stands, and a solution, a sense of being saved from the wrong. People of all faiths and beliefs tend to also commonly share the practice of a "prayerful communion," a powerful connection they feel with some type of an ideal that is infinitely beyond the limits of everyday sense. I do not share any sympathies for theology, but as a psychological exercise, religion seems to me to be something of a survival mechanism not completely discordant with the unique functions of any other given species. Whereas evolution has shaped bodily functions to succeed in certain physical environments, I cannot help but think it has also shaped a kind of psychological disposition to enable creatures with the capacity for rational thought to survive in a world that to many minds often appears irrational. This is religion, and just as all creatures vary in an abundant of ways, some more successful than others, so does religious belief. I find myself drawn to the pragmatic approach: it is not a matter of whether or not our ideas are true so much as they are useful. Is religion useful? For many, this is an indisputable and resounding yes.
This doesn't change the fact that religion can also be dangerous and restrictive, but we should parse between harmful or helpful religious beliefs in the same way we would with more or less tolerable political ideologies or hobbies or what have you. Anyway, those our my initial thoughts and I'd love to explore them further with anyone who's interested.
While clearly there are thousands of religions with contradicting creeds, to a great degree there is a common thread that runs through them: an uneasiness, that is, there is something wrong about mankind as he naturally stands, and a solution, a sense of being saved from the wrong. People of all faiths and beliefs tend to also commonly share the practice of a "prayerful communion," a powerful connection they feel with some type of an ideal that is infinitely beyond the limits of everyday sense. I do not share any sympathies for theology, but as a psychological exercise, religion seems to me to be something of a survival mechanism not completely discordant with the unique functions of any other given species. Whereas evolution has shaped bodily functions to succeed in certain physical environments, I cannot help but think it has also shaped a kind of psychological disposition to enable creatures with the capacity for rational thought to survive in a world that to many minds often appears irrational. This is religion, and just as all creatures vary in an abundant of ways, some more successful than others, so does religious belief. I find myself drawn to the pragmatic approach: it is not a matter of whether or not our ideas are true so much as they are useful. Is religion useful? For many, this is an indisputable and resounding yes.
This doesn't change the fact that religion can also be dangerous and restrictive, but we should parse between harmful or helpful religious beliefs in the same way we would with more or less tolerable political ideologies or hobbies or what have you. Anyway, those our my initial thoughts and I'd love to explore them further with anyone who's interested.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
