“Roko & co: Can we try and pin down what exactly we mean by a ‘religious-shaped hole’? I mean, even if there is such a hole, perhaps it’s just a ‘fulfilment-hole’ that many have traditionally filled with religion.”
“Dr Sosis therefore concludes that ritual constraints are not by themselves enough to sustain co-operation in a community—what is needed in addition is a belief that those constraints are sanctified.”
“In short, awareness of a ghost—a supernatural agent—made people less likely to cheat.”
Various scientists mentioned in the article are trying to find an evolutionary explanation as to why a tendency to believe in religions would be adaptive. One idea is a resurrection of group selection, but there are others. The point is that there are plenty of scientists who are looking very hard for some mechanism whereby a tendency towards religious belief is genetic.
When I say “religion-shaped hole”, I mean certain brain structures which co-evolved with primitive tribal religions in our EEA. These brain structures may be quite specific—it may be the case that not just any old “happy belief” will do; for example a belief in the imperfect and somewhat random power of human progress [c.f. the space shuttle launch] might not cut it. Susceptibility to beliefs which fit a fairly specific list of criteria may be HARD CODED into the average human brain. My guess for these properties might be:
The belief system must refer to deities/a diety who is extremely powerful, more so than any human, and it is not possible to deceive the diety about how you have acted.
The diety/deities are the ultimate explanation for the existence of the world and all natural phenomena in it
The diety/deities will punish any cheating on the members of one’s tribe/social group, and reward co-operation and self-sacrifice
The diety/deities deal with you once you have died, this treatment depends on how much you have co-operated/defected in life. [and furthermore, death IS NOT simply the end of existence]
I am unaware of any religious belief systems which don’t fit this list; but this is perhaps true by definition. Until a few hundred years ago, almost every single human being on the planet held these beliefs, with some appropriate entity as “the deity”, and today, as far as I am aware, these beliefs are held by something like 90% of the humans on this planet.
“Roko & co: Can we try and pin down what exactly we mean by a ‘religious-shaped hole’? I mean, even if there is such a hole, perhaps it’s just a ‘fulfilment-hole’ that many have traditionally filled with religion.”
From the economist article:
“Dr Sosis therefore concludes that ritual constraints are not by themselves enough to sustain co-operation in a community—what is needed in addition is a belief that those constraints are sanctified.”
“In short, awareness of a ghost—a supernatural agent—made people less likely to cheat.”
Various scientists mentioned in the article are trying to find an evolutionary explanation as to why a tendency to believe in religions would be adaptive. One idea is a resurrection of group selection, but there are others. The point is that there are plenty of scientists who are looking very hard for some mechanism whereby a tendency towards religious belief is genetic.
When I say “religion-shaped hole”, I mean certain brain structures which co-evolved with primitive tribal religions in our EEA. These brain structures may be quite specific—it may be the case that not just any old “happy belief” will do; for example a belief in the imperfect and somewhat random power of human progress [c.f. the space shuttle launch] might not cut it. Susceptibility to beliefs which fit a fairly specific list of criteria may be HARD CODED into the average human brain. My guess for these properties might be:
The belief system must refer to deities/a diety who is extremely powerful, more so than any human, and it is not possible to deceive the diety about how you have acted.
The diety/deities are the ultimate explanation for the existence of the world and all natural phenomena in it
The diety/deities will punish any cheating on the members of one’s tribe/social group, and reward co-operation and self-sacrifice
The diety/deities deal with you once you have died, this treatment depends on how much you have co-operated/defected in life. [and furthermore, death IS NOT simply the end of existence]
I am unaware of any religious belief systems which don’t fit this list; but this is perhaps true by definition. Until a few hundred years ago, almost every single human being on the planet held these beliefs, with some appropriate entity as “the deity”, and today, as far as I am aware, these beliefs are held by something like 90% of the humans on this planet.