Is it irrational to believe in god(s), scriptures, religious rituals or things spiritual/supernatural? Is the complete rejection of such beliefs indicative of the achievement of rational maturity? Is sound scientific thinking incompatible with such beliefs? Is it appropriate to think of atheism as rational and theism as irrational?
If your answer to the above questions was YES, you may want to reconsider your response in light of what it means to be human! I think most of us would agree that it is important to explore why we believe and do the things that we do. In fact, it seems that such considerations would be even more important to someone who sees us (humans) as the product of the process of evolution.
In this regard, it is interesting to note that there are a number of traits which appear to be universal in their applicability to humankind. I'm thinking of things like emotion, music, language, mathematical ability, socialization, ritual, spirituality, etc. Hence, it appears that evolution has hardwired our species to think and behave in certain ways. Moreover, the very nature of evolutionary science informs us that there are good reasons for all of these features of being human.
Forbes published an article a few years back (22 Aug 2017) by Alice Walton titled "The Science Of Spirituality: A Psychologist And A Neuroscientist Explain Being 'In The Flow'" see https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/08/22/the-science-of-spirituality-a-psychologist-and-a-neuroscientist-explain-being-in-the-flow/#688479e34e0b In the article, Walton notes that many humans have experienced the phenomenon of "being in the flow." She describes this as "the idea of getting out of our own way, or giving up control to some higher power/consciousness/energy."
In the article, Psychologist Ben Michaelis looks at the phenomenon from the perspective of humans reacting to stress and not always being in control of situations/events. According to Michaelis, humans are "pattern-seeking creatures" who understand that this need sometimes has to be relinquished. He goes on to point out that "we're an altricial species." In other words, "we're wired to give up control."
In the same article, Neuroscientist Judson Brewer describes the phenomenon as us allowing our brain to function in a more efficient and natural way. He says, “Every religious tradition that I’ve seen has something like this, just with different words. It’s letting go of the small self, so grace of god can flow through us. ‘Advaita vedanta’ [from the Upanishads]; in Catholicism, it’s emptying so god can flow..." According to Brewer, " Our brain has evolved for efficiency. 'Flow' is likely a manifestation of the brain working in optimal conditions.”
Likewise, our human propensity for ritual has been subjected to the same kind of scientific evaluation and explanation. In an article written for Scientific American, Francesca Gino and Michael Norton talk about the science behind our fascination with rituals. They wrote: "Recent research suggests that rituals may be more rational than they appear. Why? Because even simple rituals can be extremely effective. Rituals performed after experiencing losses – from loved ones to lotteries – do alleviate grief, and rituals performed before high-pressure tasks – like singing in public – do in fact reduce anxiety and increase people’s confidence. What’s more, rituals appear to benefit even people who claim not to believe that rituals work. While anthropologists have documented rituals across cultures, this earlier research has been primarily observational. Recently, a series of investigations by psychologists have revealed intriguing new results demonstrating that rituals can have a causal impact on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors." see "Why Rituals Work" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-rituals-work/#googDisableSync
In another article for LIVESCIENCE, Meredith Small wrote an article titled "Human Rituals: The Punctuation Marks of Life" see https://www.livescience.com/9687-human-rituals-punctuation-marks-life.html After a discussion of various marriage and death rituals extant in our world, she writes: "It's not just that humans are party animals. We seem to need some clearly defined, traditional activities to move back into regular life after a major change. Ritual not only underscores those life changes, it also adds a punctuation mark (a question mark for birth, a comma for rites of puberty, an exclamation point for marriage, and, of course, a period for death). And then we are able to move on to the next sentence." She continues: "Ritual also forms our identity. We learn about our culture from these rites of passage and we become part of a community."
Hence, when we examine these things from a scientific perspective, it becomes clear to us that the evolution of humankind has been a complex and multi-faceted process. It is also clear that that process has been sequential in nature, and that there are concrete reasons for the way we think and everything we do.
As a consequence of these facts, it seems just a little counterintuitive and irrational to designate ANY of these universal traits of humanity as obsolete relics of a superstitious past. In fact, it seems to this observer that a better understanding of all aspects of the evolution of our species is the only way to arrive at rational answers to the questions we asked at the beginning of this post. After all, if any of these universal traits have become obsolete, won't the process (evolution) eventually eradicate them for us? What do you think?
If your answer to the above questions was YES, you may want to reconsider your response in light of what it means to be human! I think most of us would agree that it is important to explore why we believe and do the things that we do. In fact, it seems that such considerations would be even more important to someone who sees us (humans) as the product of the process of evolution.
In this regard, it is interesting to note that there are a number of traits which appear to be universal in their applicability to humankind. I'm thinking of things like emotion, music, language, mathematical ability, socialization, ritual, spirituality, etc. Hence, it appears that evolution has hardwired our species to think and behave in certain ways. Moreover, the very nature of evolutionary science informs us that there are good reasons for all of these features of being human.
Forbes published an article a few years back (22 Aug 2017) by Alice Walton titled "The Science Of Spirituality: A Psychologist And A Neuroscientist Explain Being 'In The Flow'" see https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/08/22/the-science-of-spirituality-a-psychologist-and-a-neuroscientist-explain-being-in-the-flow/#688479e34e0b In the article, Walton notes that many humans have experienced the phenomenon of "being in the flow." She describes this as "the idea of getting out of our own way, or giving up control to some higher power/consciousness/energy."
In the article, Psychologist Ben Michaelis looks at the phenomenon from the perspective of humans reacting to stress and not always being in control of situations/events. According to Michaelis, humans are "pattern-seeking creatures" who understand that this need sometimes has to be relinquished. He goes on to point out that "we're an altricial species." In other words, "we're wired to give up control."
In the same article, Neuroscientist Judson Brewer describes the phenomenon as us allowing our brain to function in a more efficient and natural way. He says, “Every religious tradition that I’ve seen has something like this, just with different words. It’s letting go of the small self, so grace of god can flow through us. ‘Advaita vedanta’ [from the Upanishads]; in Catholicism, it’s emptying so god can flow..." According to Brewer, " Our brain has evolved for efficiency. 'Flow' is likely a manifestation of the brain working in optimal conditions.”
Likewise, our human propensity for ritual has been subjected to the same kind of scientific evaluation and explanation. In an article written for Scientific American, Francesca Gino and Michael Norton talk about the science behind our fascination with rituals. They wrote: "Recent research suggests that rituals may be more rational than they appear. Why? Because even simple rituals can be extremely effective. Rituals performed after experiencing losses – from loved ones to lotteries – do alleviate grief, and rituals performed before high-pressure tasks – like singing in public – do in fact reduce anxiety and increase people’s confidence. What’s more, rituals appear to benefit even people who claim not to believe that rituals work. While anthropologists have documented rituals across cultures, this earlier research has been primarily observational. Recently, a series of investigations by psychologists have revealed intriguing new results demonstrating that rituals can have a causal impact on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors." see "Why Rituals Work" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-rituals-work/#googDisableSync
In another article for LIVESCIENCE, Meredith Small wrote an article titled "Human Rituals: The Punctuation Marks of Life" see https://www.livescience.com/9687-human-rituals-punctuation-marks-life.html After a discussion of various marriage and death rituals extant in our world, she writes: "It's not just that humans are party animals. We seem to need some clearly defined, traditional activities to move back into regular life after a major change. Ritual not only underscores those life changes, it also adds a punctuation mark (a question mark for birth, a comma for rites of puberty, an exclamation point for marriage, and, of course, a period for death). And then we are able to move on to the next sentence." She continues: "Ritual also forms our identity. We learn about our culture from these rites of passage and we become part of a community."
Hence, when we examine these things from a scientific perspective, it becomes clear to us that the evolution of humankind has been a complex and multi-faceted process. It is also clear that that process has been sequential in nature, and that there are concrete reasons for the way we think and everything we do.
As a consequence of these facts, it seems just a little counterintuitive and irrational to designate ANY of these universal traits of humanity as obsolete relics of a superstitious past. In fact, it seems to this observer that a better understanding of all aspects of the evolution of our species is the only way to arrive at rational answers to the questions we asked at the beginning of this post. After all, if any of these universal traits have become obsolete, won't the process (evolution) eventually eradicate them for us? What do you think?