Gene Expression

1

When this kind of question was asked earlier here about liberalism I suggested that people in the more practical disciplines were more conservative. (As I recall, schoolteachers and nurses were more conservative than the government-dependence of their jobs would suggest, because they were mostly practical people making a living.)

The same trend is apparent here with theism. I wish that math and physicas had been included.

Posted by: John Emerson | October 28, 2006 8:55 AM

3

Proportion exhibiting "No doubt that God exists" Accounting - 63%

It's like what my dad always says: I know there is a God, and he lives at Revenue Canada.

Posted by: Babbler | October 28, 2006 12:44 PM

5

I'm very curious what exactly you mean by "supernaturalism"?

ghosts, gods, miracles, fates, etc.

Posted by: razib | October 28, 2006 4:38 PM

7

Ni Hao! Kannichi Wa!

The concept of God is the greatest conceptual exercise triggered by random mutation that impacts neural function that an organism can have.

The key question is whether it can have selective survival value.

It got us through one of the most threatening periods of selective pressures for survival of the conceptual aspects of neural function we identify with the human species, the so-called Dark Ages.

In those days expression of such neural function seems to have had to remain secluded, sometimes persecuted(selective value), and protected by the governing powers in order to survive.

Examples are cloistered priests, the only ones to conceptualize under Christian regimes (theoretically forbidden to pass on the genes, but de facto no problem, maybe with the nuns?), Jewish Rabbis (conceptualizing males who married daughters of the clever general survivors, the moneychangers), and their followers in all societies so far (except America), Buddhist priests in their temples, Imams in their Mosques, etc. and those under their influence and many variants in worldwide history niches. These are what we call "religions."

Can this selection for neural function called concept, logic, the concept of God, and in some arguments the scientific method become general?

That is heaven, paradise, nirvana, the vision of Marx/Engels.

Posted by: Mouth of the Yellow River | October 28, 2006 9:18 PM

9

The key question is whether it can have selective survival value.

no, it isn't the key question. all societies have religion, so on some level it must be selected for. there are two primary ways one can conceive of this

a) religion is selected directly, that is, the religious have a higher fitness than the non-religious

b) religion is a correlated response, a byproduct, to other aspects of our humanity which are selected for. in this conception religion is like heat that is a byproduct of work, an engine produces motion, but it also produces heat. complex cognition may necessitate the bias toward religiosity

i tend to lean toward the latter because non-religiosity has existed at low levels through written history. this suggests to me that there isn't positive direct selection for religion. but the answer is probably a mix of factors.

It got us through one of the most threatening periods of selective pressures for survival of the conceptual aspects of neural function we identify with the human species, the so-called Dark Ages.

i really can't make sense of this. i don't believe that the dark ages were any more, or less, religious that the pre or post dark ages

Posted by: razib | October 29, 2006 12:47 AM