Is evolutionary psychology ‘faith’ friendly ?
This is not a post on faith but an insight on some common human traits and how they have evolved facilitating formation of present day societies for the better or for worse.
Human psychology has an evolutionary history that predisposes us to behave in ways that are uniquely adaptive for survival and reproduction. Comparative psychologists study animal behavior and make comparisons among different species, including humans. Researchers in evolutionary psychology theorize about the origins of human aggression, altruism, mate selection and other behaviors only to find that many of them are inherited from our primate ancestors.
The psychology of ‘aping’, closely associated with our ancestral cousins, is so deeply ingrained in us that fanaticism in beliefs or faiths, considering the history of mankind, is closely linked to the following basic traits human beings have inherited from primates.
1. People mostly rely on judgments of others when they find themselves in a state of uncertainty.
2. People mostly adjust their own behavior to conform to that of their group.
3. People will cause intense suffering to others rather than disobey authority.
4. People, who behave in ways that contradict their own attitudes, experience an unpleasant state of internal tension, so adjust their attitudes to be consistent with their behavior.
5. People change their attitudes to justify their own investment of effort, money, or time. Thus, they come to love what they strive for.
So, when people are confused, as to what is right and what’s not, these inherited psychologies take over. No doubt there are so many followers of different ideologies and much sectarian violence.
Pythagoras was a senior contemporary of Budhha though they were hundreds of miles apart. Pythagoras believed in transmigration of soul, or the reincarnation of soul into bodies of humans, animals and even plants till it became immortal or got salvation. Though his ideas were influenced by ancient Greek religion, he took those ideas further because of his own experiences or 'misconceptions' and propagated to his followers that came be known as pythagoreans.
Apparently, Budhha seemed to get exactly the same ideas just after a couple of years meditating under a banyan tree. He took it a step further and introduced the concept of Karma.
His 'enlightment' was propagated by Indian kings like Bimbisara and Ashoka in far east countries. Now,a large population of far east countries, who are Budhhists, believe in trans-migration of soul into animals and plants.
Its difficult to know if Budhha himself believed in what he preached or he did it just to bring peace in the society and upgrade the moral values of people.
I read it today on another forum as part of another discussion. Clear now?
I wasn't presenting it as some kind of factual news, I just read it somewhere and was reminded of it when I read this. Hence I brought it up. If you don't believe it, no biggie.
what is the source of yr reading miss is it genuine bcos lot of fake news are circulated these days by media
I was reading today that the human brain doesn't actually reach emotional maturity until the age of 28-30, which I think is why you see more younger people involved in this kind of "group think" as they're easier carried away.
The older you get, the less you can be bothered to take stands.
We need to constantly battle our aping personality and learn to think for ourselves. But this is not always easy. God knows I've been trialed far too many times with such situations. Sometimes I've failed but happily more times I have not.
See seeking advice, specially from learned and/or experienced people, is not a bad thing. Getting inspired by another's achievements can have positive effects, but we just need to know where to draw the line.
As Thelonius rightly said that's the advantage of having a brain(to which I add a sufficiently functioning brain!)
Oh and to add: my faith, thankfully, also doesn't promote blind-following and monkey see monkey do!