How Did Deity Evolve? (Earth, beliefs, evolution, myth, atheist)

[Sunstone]

How did the human predisposition to create deities evolve?

I myself think the human tendency to create deities is an outgrowth of the primate tendency to see personalities in all things. And that tendency to see personalities in all things is itself a very helpful adaptation to living in groups. A primate that can think of its neighbors as having personalities can predict their behavior better than a primate that is incapable of thinking of its neighbors as having personalities. That is, thinking of things as having personalities is a predictive mechanism.

But what do you think? How did the human predisposition to create deities evolve? What were the precursor behaviors to it? Why was creating deities a successful adaptive strategy (assuming it was indeed a successful adaptive strategy)?

[Jaiket]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I myself think the human tendency to create deities is an outgrowth of the primate tendency to see personalities in all things.

In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins speaks of a similar idea proposed by Dan Dennett. He talks of humans assigning intent to external entities (not always humans) in order to make quick decisions.

[Willamena]

Haha, I imagine some people will object to the subject line.

As a predictive mechanism of demonstrable personality, doesn't that imply that god's behavior should be predictable? Do you think that it is?

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins speaks of a similar idea proposed by Dan Dennett. He talks of humans assigning intent to external entities (not always humans) in order to make quick decisions.

I think it's more a result of our self awareness and reasoning abilities, than a specific evolutionary adaption itself.

Our self awareness gives us awareness of why we do something, rather than just doing it. Imagine a tribe of people living about 10,000 years ago. One man could kill another man because the other man tried to steal his cattle for example. The reasoning of the killer is "That man tried to do me harm by taking my cattle, that angered me so i sought vengence."

If a nearby volcano erupted and the fumes killed several members of the man's village, he could well reason that the volcano killed his neighbours because it was angry with something the villagers had done. This could lead to sacrifices to the volcano in the hopes of keeping it happy in the future. Its not a big step to go from this to Gods.
I'd say, assigning rational motives to animals acting on instincts, or to forces of nature is a result of our awareness of our own reasoning processes and that the animism and all its offshoots evolved from this.

[Random]

Tribes needed leaders, from the family unit as the smallest composite to the tribe as a whole.

The leaders were expected to have knowlege and skill that the ordinary tribesman didn't. They were to be wise and have answers. If they didn't, they could not qualify for the position.

They were expected to have a non-remote connexion to Nature and be able to divine the elements, predict the weather etc.

So whether Nature, Goddess or God, a tribal leader was expected to have the know-how so that he or she could make decisions that ensured the tribes survival and properity.

The idea of a man-god or God-King confirms that this bound the people to a kind of authority that ensured adaptation and survivability.

I've discussed the "evolution" of deity in other posts, in terms of how the supremacy of the Goddess became the supremacy of the God, but I guess Sunstone either missed it or didn't consider it relevant.

Though we musn't forget that many beliefs and strategies of the primitive peoples would not be well reasoned by modern standards. Perhaps to discover what they did one would have to think outside the box, so to speak.

GOD as a belief and concept has ensure mankinds survival through the last two millenia: I think it is obvious how. But now we have technology and we don't need God because we sense that we can become like Him in time: this may have a drastic affect long-term over our current evolutionary prospects.

What if the world becomes Atheist gradually and superhumans evolve? Then the strategy to survive and thrive would be moved away from the realm of connexion to deity to actual warring demigods here on Earth!

But I digress...

[PureX]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

I think it's more a result of our self awareness and reasoning abilities, than a specific evolutionary adaption itself.

Our self awareness gives us awareness of why we do something, rather than just doing it. Imagine a tribe of people living about 10,000 years ago. One man could kill another man because the other man tried to steal his cattle for example. The reasoning of the killer is "That man tried to do me harm by taking my cattle, that angered me so i sought vengence."

If a nearby volcano erupted and the fumes killed several members of the man's village, he could well reason that the volcano killed his neighbours because it was angry with something the villagers had done. This could lead to sacrifices to the volcano in the hopes of keeping it happy in the future. Its not a big step to go from this to Gods.
I'd say, assigning rational motives to animals acting on instincts, or to forces of nature is a result of our awareness of our own reasoning processes and that the animism and all its offshoots evolved from this.

I think you hit on a very good point. We project our own personalities onto others to create the idea in our minds that we can "read" them. And because people are often quite alike, seeing other people as mirrors fo ourselves is often an accurate way of "reading" them.

Later, when we encounter other phenomena and circumstances that we need to understand, but don't, we automatically perform the same proceedure: we project our own personalities onto them. This is of course less successful in terms of accuracy, but it never-the-less provides us with the illusion that we can "read" that otherwise mysterious object or circumstance. And when we are afraid, the illusion of security is as welcome to us as the reality of security would be. So we take it.

The "gods", I think, are basically inventions that provide us with an illusion of knowledge and security, that we cling to in the face of our own fear and ignorance.

[michel]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

How did the human predisposition to create deities evolve?

I myself think the human tendency to create deities is an outgrowth of the primate tendency to see personalities in all things. And that tendency to see personalities in all things is itself a very helpful adaptation to living in groups. A primate that can think of its neighbors as having personalities can predict their behavior better than a primate that is incapable of thinking of its neighbors as having personalities. That is, thinking of things as having personalities is a predictive mechanism.

But what do you think? How did the human predisposition to create deities evolve? What were the precursor behaviors to it? Why was creating deities a successful adaptive strategy (assuming it was indeed a successful adaptive strategy)?

I suppose the human instinct to 'create deities' is a natural impulse. The first time you hear thunder (but don't undertand it), you could be forgiven for thinking it's a great big guy up there who is annoyed with you; smae with lightening, any for of disaters. Thinking that way, primitive man had someone to 'blame' for everything - and, I regret to say - some not so primitive people still believe that "God did it!".

I guess our developing sense of understanding, through evolution, crosses out 'the need for a God', as we begin to understand what was not understood before; I would even go so far as to say that I can understand the polytheists , who as with the Greek and Roman Mythology, believe in different "Gods" with a different role each.

Let me say that I do understand the "the impulse for cohesion and meaning" quote so often brought up by Jay; I am sure that that could very well be the reason for some to believe in something - but certainly, IMO, not for all of us.

[sandy whitelinger]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

How did the human predisposition to create deities evolve?

Offhand I'd say they took offense the true nature of the true deity and made up one that liked them more.