The development of spirituality in evolution.

[Mystic]

Could it be that similar factors that developed our moral sense also developed our spiritual sense? That in the past, as we evolved, we felt a need as we grew more empathetic and attached to our loved ones and people in general, that we needed to believe they survived after death. The same can be said about the love we had towards ourselves. It can also be said that belief in reward and punishment after death could have been important.

Just how morality developed, spirituality would've developed in evolution for survival reasons.

Now just like morality is not proven to be an illusion and most believe in a reality to morality that makes ought to act a certain way, can the same be said about spirituality, that our spiritual sense even though developed through evolution developed in a way that connects to a truth about ourselves as opposed to an illusion?

[Rahul]

My personal thoughts on this idea is that spirituality is most likely a spandrel to our intelligence and emotion. A by-product or side effect.

Spirituality is definitely a truth about humanity because it speaks to innate human qualities. Mainly our emotional states and our tendency to make shortcuts to conclusions in order to quickly deduce what we are currently experiencing. I literally jump sometimes when I see a water hose laying in high grass because my immediate shortcut thought is SNAKE! without taking the time to logically step back and examine what I just saw before reacting.

I definitely feel spiritual thoughts, or "Awe" as I tend to refer to it at times. But it's usually because I'm geeking out about something. Having a cerebral "holy shit" moment.

I don't think spirituality helped us survive in nature. But it appears to have helped us survive in human societies. Kind of like the Peacock tail. Helps us to reproduce, but is a major drag on our personal resources and escaping predators. At least historically in some of those regards. If I never left my small hometown of highly religious, conservative folks; me being an atheist would be a major obstacle to my finding a receptive mate for sure.

[Jenny A]

Could it be that similar factors that developed our moral sense also developed our spiritual sense? That in the past, as we evolved, we felt a need as we grew more empathetic and attached to our loved ones and people in general, that we needed to believe they survived after death. The same can be said about the love we had towards ourselves. It can also be said that belief in reward and punishment after death could have been important.

Just how morality developed, spirituality would've developed in evolution for survival reasons.

Now just like morality is not proven to be an illusion and most believe in a reality to morality that makes ought to act a certain way, can the same be said about spirituality, that our spiritual sense even though developed through evolution developed in a way that connects to a truth about ourselves as opposed to an illusion?

I'm not sure it addresses spirituality specifically as opposed to religious belief and practice, but there is a healthy amount of evolutionary speculation as to why we are as a species religious. Most of it centers around the idea that religiosity is a byproduct of useful traits. I may miss a few, but here are some of those traits:

1. Obedience of the young, and obvious good because it lowers childhood mortality rate carrying on into adulthood. But it does cause the young to believe things that aren't necessarily survival related.

2. Empathy for others---an obvious social and tribal good carrying over to empathy for things inanimate or animal. Thus the personification of the sun.

3. The ability to make causal connections is great for building fires but not all surmises are right. Pigeons develop rituals if fed randomly at the punch of a button. Humans develop rituals in the face of random uncertainty. Rain dances, prayer, and lucky shirts being the first few examples that spring to mind.

4. Acting on more false positives than false negatives, i.e. if you run from a shadow you think is a lion you'll live, but if you ignore a shadow and it turns out to be a lion you'll die.

5. Seeing agency, i.e. believing that a lion or that guy with the club has plans and a course of action carrying over to thinking apples want to fall.

I'm sure someone has argued that religion is a positive survival trait, certainly it is in countries were the penalty for atheism is death. But the reason most evolutionary biologists think it is a negative byproduct is because it:

1. Requires much time better spent hunting, eating, having sex, etc.

2. Causes inter-tribal war.

3. Requires sacrifice without return: human and animal sacrifice; tithing; martyrdom; declining to eat certain foods; declining to have sex----I could go on.

Meditation and meditation like prayer probably does have some positive benefit.