(May 19, 2015 at 4:45 pm)nicanica123 Wrote: (1) So I ask, are atheist immune to common human fallacies and emotional roadblocks? (2) Or is religion and god the one main cause of such things? (3) Because from what I am concluding, belief in god and the supernatural seems to be a byproduct of human emotions not the cause
*Numbered by me for ease of answering*
1) No, of course not.
2) I'd say being human is the main cause of such things.
3) I'd say, yes, belief in god(s) and the supernatural is largely a byproduct of human emotion, provided 'emotion' is understood broadly enough to encompass such different experiences as fear of the unknown, awe, powerful experiences of beauty, a sense of connectedness with the world, the need of a parent's approval, the need to belong, etc. There are probably a hundred paths to belief in a god, and saying that they are based on human emotion -- while likely true -- is too facile a way to express it if it tends to homogenize these disparate experiences. I suspect that most people who believe in a god or the supernatural have a mixture of emotional experiences that led to their belief.
