Science 6 November 2009:
Vol. 326. no. 5954, pp. 784 – 787
DOI: 10.1126/science.326_784
On the Origin of Religion Elizabeth Culotta
“How and when did religion arise? In the 11th essay in Science’s series in honor of the Year of Darwin, Elizabeth Culotta explores the human propensity to believe in unseen deities. No consensus yet exists among scientists, but potential answers are emerging from both the archaeological record and studies of the mind itself. Some researchers, exploring religion’s effects in society, suggest that it may boost fitness by promoting cooperative behavior. And in the past 15 years, a growing number of researchers have followed Darwin’s lead and explored the hypothesis that religion springs naturally from the normal workings of the human mind. This new field, the cognitive science of religion, draws on psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to understand the mental building blocks of religious thought.”
Yes, indeed, Darwinism springs from the normal workings of the human mind. Whoops. Wait a minute, that can’t be right ’cause Darwinism is what allows us to understand all the other false things which spring from the normal workings of the human mind. So, like Darwinism is true. It has to be true. So maybe it’s the one thing that doesn’t spring from the human mind. It comes from somewhere else, some higher plane. Oh shoot, there is no higher plane. Sorry I forgot. OK Darwinism springs from the normal workings of the human mind, but it happens to be the one normal working we can trust. That’s it! It’s different from all the other normal workings which are false. We know this is the one and only true working of the human mind because… Well, just because.