Psychological study shows brain may hardwired to believe in the supernatural.

Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed

Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
Location
Central NY
Belief in the supernatural is a common part of human life. Varients between individuals and across context including forms of belief in spirits, mystic forces, or similar phenomena that occurs in nearly every culture.

Humans strives to understand nature and its complexities. Why does rain fall from the sky? We want to know why things happen and how to predict future occurrences. Unfortunately many event causes are unknown, rather than accepting that we don’t know how situations occur people adopt a god of the gaps approach that reach into supernatural possibilities to explain things when we lack empiracle grounded understanding of them.

The sun sails across the sky because it is Apollo’s chariot. The ground shook and buildings collapsed because the earth was angry. Supernatural beliefs, including those endorsed by organized religion, promise explanations for otherwise baffling events and experiences that may bring relief from the discomfort of not knowing.

From this perspective, supernaturalism exist because they reflect an attempt to explain the world.
 

It's when the scientific approach gets ditched, either out of ignorance, frustration, or laziness. I personally see no reason to believe in the supernatural. That said, there are things we don't yet know, and questions we've yet to ask. But that doesn't mean we should resort to the supernatural as an explanation.

Still, our brains do work in a specific way, such as our tendency toward pareidolia. Sometimes we sit to hit up against the edges of our monkey brains.
 
Think of the significance of supernaturasm in our everyday lives; Superman, Paganism, Mythology, and religion in general. How would the world be if everyone woke-up and saw things as they really are without supernatural influences.
Christmas and halloween may cease to exist, no more spooks or spirits to fear or guide us?

None-the-less I beleive there is a reason why supernaturasm is hard-wired into our psych, if nothing else but to make for good stories.
 

VaughanJB said:
It's when the scientific approach gets ditched, either out of ignorance, frustration, or laziness. I personally see no reason to believe in the supernatural. That said, there are things we don't yet know, and questions we've yet to ask. But that doesn't mean we should resort to the supernatural as an explanation.

Still, our brains do work in a specific way, such as our tendency toward pareidolia. Sometimes we sit to hit up against the edges of our monkey brains.
Click to expand...
Mine sure isn't. Stone atheist.
 
Beliefs form in our minds to minimize our surprise about the world, or simply put, to explain things we don't understand. The prevailing thinking holds that people develop delusions to predict how events in their lives will occur — just as Pavlov's dog learned to predict that the sound of a bell ringing meant dinnertime was imminent. Occasionally humans update their beliefs when what they predict doesn't match what they actually experience, but not as often as one might expect. It takes less energy in the brain to confabulate or spin-doctor the reason for the mismatch than it does to rebuild the belief system.
Tests and studies show that delusions often appear to override the evidence of the senses. These study results demonstrate and confirm findings from previous studies that delusional individuals have less stable perceptions of the world. This is huge. Everyone can have delusions about anything, but once the belief is established, it shapes the perception so that it complies with the expectation, and it changes the reality of the individual.
 
bobcat said:
Beliefs form in our minds to minimize our surprise about the world, or simply put, to explain things we don't understand. The prevailing thinking holds that people develop delusions to predict how events in their lives will occur — just as Pavlov's dog learned to predict that the sound of a bell ringing meant dinnertime was imminent. Occasionally humans update their beliefs when what they predict doesn't match what they actually experience, but not as often as one might expect. It takes less energy in the brain to confabulate or spin-doctor the reason for the mismatch than it does to rebuild the belief system.
Tests and studies show that delusions often appear to override the evidence of the senses. These study results demonstrate and confirm findings from previous studies that delusional individuals have less stable perceptions of the world. This is huge. Everyone can have delusions about anything, but once the belief is established, it shapes the perception so that it complies with the expectation, and it changes the reality of the individual.
Click to expand...

This may be true, but when it comes to a belief in the supernatural, it seems some people simply want to deny the scientific proofs, and continue to assert the supernatural is a thing. At best, I consider the supernatural as being questions science hasn't got to yet. :)
 
VaughanJB said:
This may be true, but when it comes to a belief in the supernatural, it seems some people simply want to deny the scientific proofs, and continue to assert the supernatural is a thing. At best, I consider the supernatural as being questions science hasn't got to yet. :)
Click to expand...
Well, I take an open minded approach about such things, and try not to get conclusive about something I have nothing more to go on than subjective experience. If there are "scientific proofs" of the existence or non-existence of something we might describe as the supernatural, I would certainly be interested in hearing them.
 
bobcat said:
Well, I take an open minded approach about such things, and try not to get conclusive about something I have nothing more to go on than subjective experience. If there are "scientific proofs" of the existence or non-existence of something we might describe as the supernatural, I would certainly be interested in hearing them.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can ever prove there's, for example, no God. How would you go about testing such a thing? It's more about processes, such as the creation of life, evolution, those kinds of things. Some still insist God made Adam, and Eve was made from a rib..... now THAT is supernatural. But actually, we're a part of a long line of chemical reactions that led us to argue on the internet. :D
 
VaughanJB said:
I don't think you can ever prove there's, for example, no God. How would you go about testing such a thing? It's more about processes, such as the creation of life, evolution, those kinds of things. Some still insist God made Adam, and Eve was made from a rib..... now THAT is supernatural. But actually, we're a part of a long line of chemical reactions that led us to argue on the internet. :D
Click to expand...

Correct. You can't prove a negative. One of the basics of logic. You could theoretically prove that there IS a God... but not that there ISN'T one
 
I feel like our ancestors were hardwired to explain their world by myth making.

Mythmaking can certainly contribute to the development of religious beliefs and practices, including the belief in gods.

In many ancient cultures, myths and stories were used to explain natural phenomena, such as thunderstorms or earthquakes, or to provide moral guidance and teach lessons about the world and human behavior. Over time, these myths and stories may have become more elaborate and complex, leading to the development of organized religions and belief systems that included gods and other supernatural beings.

For example, in ancient Greece, the myths and stories surrounding the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus were central to the religious and cultural practices of the Greeks. Similarly, in many indigenous cultures around the world, mythologies and cosmologies involving gods and other supernatural beings played a central role in shaping their worldviews and beliefs.

However, it's important to recognize that mythmaking is not the only factor that contributes to religious beliefs, and that beliefs and practices can vary greatly across cultures and societies.
 
VaughanJB said:
I don't think you can ever prove there's, for example, no God. How would you go about testing such a thing? It's more about processes, such as the creation of life, evolution, those kinds of things. Some still insist God made Adam, and Eve was made from a rib..... now THAT is supernatural. But actually, we're a part of a long line of chemical reactions that led us to argue on the internet. :D
Click to expand...
Agreed. I don't even like using the term "God" or "deity" because it is such a personalized concept that is largely undefined during discussions. Some visualize a being with a body on a throne. Others may have a more universal consciousness concept, and still others may think of the "supernatural" as little more than an energy that may or may not transcend the universe as we know it.

But the Adam & Eve version of how I got here doesn't really float my boat, so I much prefer looking elsewhere for answers to questions I still have.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Sorry, there's absolutely no way anyone can prove belief in a deity is "hardwired" in humans. That's like proving everybody is hardwired to like yellow as their favorite color.
Click to expand...
Excuse me, I got off at the bus top. Can anyone direct me to the Marakesh Express?
 
Last edited:
DaiwaGuy said:
Fact is, no one needs a reason to be an atheist. It is a belief. I never try to affect anyone else's beliefs, I only ask then to keep them to themselves.
Click to expand...
I don’t understand the phobia associated with god and dieties. If you don’t want to contribute, that is fine, but to criticize people willing to discuss and explore topics in question, sir, you are out of line. It is important for me to discuss matters of god and religion because the hold and power religion has on people defies logic. Yet if want to be a part of that environment, you have to do as the environment instructs you to do.

This is what fascinates me, I attended bible college and as a casual observer, students made a tremendous effort to conduct themselves as godly men and women. Some failed based on academia while others, clearly had no business there. except attending bible college would somehow clean up their act for model citizenship.

God or no god is a personal choice, however, religion is manmade and corrupt as man would have to be.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top