(June 24, 2015 at 12:48 pm)Tonus Wrote:(June 24, 2015 at 12:39 pm)Brian37 Wrote: Evolution unfortunately works with force and cruelty, one example would be pregnancy through rape. But we also evolved with empathy and compassion which is why we react negatively to such things.I think that one thing we're learning is that we also have evolved with a very self-centric view of the world. Even as we find ways to fit in with various social groups due to our mental wiring, we nonetheless place an inordinate amount of value on our own place within those groups. We not only matter to ourselves, we're pretty sure we matter a lot to everyone else... but they're thinking the exact same about themselves.
In any case, it's not surprising that a species that has a wildly overblown sense of its own value would build a mythology around just that concept. A universe birthed by a being of overwhelming power and magnificence, who nonetheless is quite concerned about what is happening on some barely-discernible dot on the fringes of his peripheral vision. It's the equivalent of any of us suddenly taking a keen interest in the opinions (and breeding habits) of the Demodex that we happen to host.
We wouldn't have evolved if we didn't have a sense of self value. But like you said, because our species started in scientific ignorance we had no way of understanding how flawed that perception was. Unfortunately most humans still stupidly value that superstitious sense of self importance where as evolutionary biology explains how our survival works.
"Self importance" to the theist means their club is the center of the universe. "Self importance" as a scientific explanation in evolutionary terms does not claim life is important to the universe, it only explains our instincts to getting to the point of reproduction.
Humans have not had an entirety of existence at the start with what science knows now. Mentally our species is still a majority in an infantile antiquated view of reality. It made sense when humans didn't know any better, but we do now. That modern understanding of science based understanding, is still relatively young compared to a much longer history of scientific ignorance.
