Evolution and Religion

Evolution and Religion - Darwin’s God - Robin Marantz Henig - New York Times

I've always believed in a biological imperative driving us toward belief in a higher power. The biggest question for me though is whether that is a first-order biological process or a side-effect of having a biological predisposition toward social groups and hierarchical structures.

For instance, horses are naturally social and hierarchical in the wild, which is hypothesized to be why it is also easier for horses to look to humans for that leadership.

Similarly, wolves tend to be very social and hierarchical in the wild. Many breeds of dogs seem to need social companionship. That same need for social companionship seems to drive the comfort and pleasure we receive from being in a committed relationship. That sense of comfort is itself a neuro-chemical process.

I've also thought a lot about the "identification of traits in others" aspects to evolution lately. The idea here is that the ability to identify certain traits in other individuals is a key factor in successful sexual selection and in survival in general. Not only are we predisposed to recognize beauty (and especially facial beauty), we also possess a keen ability to recognize intellect in others.

I suspect horses and dogs also have this ability to recognize intellect and to decide whom to follow based on not just physical, but also intellectual prowess.

The ability to recognize intelligence in another individual of the same species would rapidly confer evolutionary advantage.

So in the end, from a neuro-chemical standpoint I think God may be an idealized abstract notion of intellectual perfection and the ideal leader hard-wired into the brain to set a pattern for selecting leaders and mates. Perhaps?