Demon- you're mostly right on, as far as I can tell, with what you're talking about. I'd just like to point out that genes are not the only things that evolves, and here I'm thinking of language, memes, etc. And just wording issues- natural selection certainly DOES favor "things," in the case of biological evolution, the things favored are traits which allow an organism to survive.
When ephrium brought up the "altered state of mind" bit, immediately it brought to mind the "God module," supposed to be the part of the brain which lights up when a person thinks of religion. And I think that's more what ephrium is wondering about. Exactly why did we evolve as a species with this tendency to believe in the supernatural? You say that it could not have any positive effects, "as they seem just as likely to blow each other up than work together," but since humans are, it seems, genetically burdened with this trait of "believing" there must've been some evolutionary reason for it.
When ephrium brought up the "altered state of mind" bit, immediately it brought to mind the "God module," supposed to be the part of the brain which lights up when a person thinks of religion. And I think that's more what ephrium is wondering about. Exactly why did we evolve as a species with this tendency to believe in the supernatural? You say that it could not have any positive effects, "as they seem just as likely to blow each other up than work together," but since humans are, it seems, genetically burdened with this trait of "believing" there must've been some evolutionary reason for it.
