Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id FAA09636 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 11 Jan 2002 05:50:21 GMT To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Message-Id: <AA-BC7F842F8FAE05489847008F85DD4728-ZZ@maillink1.prodigy.net> Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 00:46:22 -0500 From: "Philip Jonkers" <PHILIPJONKERS@prodigy.net> Subject: Re: playing at suicide Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Philip:
>>I doubt if it will ever be
>>feasible, all the more since it seems that religion
>>is ingrained in the human brain.
Wade:
>Is it religion that is ingrained, or the mechanisms
that allow religion
>to flourish? I suspect the latter, and that religion
has endured only
>because it is a facile set of conditions to set up
and maintain.
>
>But, yes, it is hard to eliminate the easy.
Interesting point. It seems more likely indeed
that religion is but of a specific example of
a more general class of phenomena for which the
human brain has truly evolved a processing faculty.
I'm thinking of affinity for mystical, metaphysical
and other air-borne experiences, sensations,
visions, reasoning and the lot.
On the other hand, it might be that we have truly
a center which is devoted entirely to our
religious affinity. Namely, if religion truly and
specificly offered truly survival benefits
(as a social glue) the more religious affine people
would get selected out by the Balwin effect.
It might also be that the Baldwin effect stimulated
the general evolution of the `spiritual' (religious,
anthropocentric, romantic, tending to metaphysics,
etc.) being. That is,
where religion forms only a subset. (I use romantic
in a negative sense, it's not that I hate romance
though...)
In all these things the main player is imagination
I think. Without skeptical mindset the tendency is
to believe once you can imagine. Perhaps this where
the Baldwin effect played in on.
Religion, it keeps intruiging me...
Philip.
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