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Is atheism due to a genetic defect?
- Thread starter Gambit
- Start date
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
A pertinent question!
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
So some Christians and Jews have a genetic defect too? I'm really not sure what point you're trying to make.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
I think it's pretty clear that religious belief is largely a matter of upbringing, nurture rather than nature. There's a complicated question in here about genetic influence on personality, which I think remains largely unresolved.
Clearly human existence is precarious and uncertain, so we all have a need for meaning and a sense of emotional security, but people meet that need in a variety of different ways. Religious belief is a popular one, but it's not the only game in town.
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Yes, it is a fact of evolution that some mutations can be beneficial.
Incidentally: do you think you believe in God and, presumably, wii be saved, because you have a gene and we don't?
Ciao
- viole
outhouse
Atheistically
I think someone is a bit bitter, because atheist tend to be much more education in religion then theist generally speaking.
FunctionalAtheist
Hammer of Reason
That's like saying people who lack the alcoholism gene are defective.
Gambit
Well-Known Member
FunctionalAtheist
Hammer of Reason
EXCUSE ME? The correct term is chromatically challenged. Color blind is our word!
FunctionalAtheist
Hammer of Reason
It's not really. Color blindness is an objectively measurable disability. The value of a genetic predisposition to believe or not believe in god would require a value judgment on the existence of god. Calling the absence of the god gene are defective is an a prior assumption that a god gene is universally beneficial in terms of reproductive success.
Jared Jammer
Member
It's an interesting question. I've often said, using the most-oft-cited definitions of mental illness, that atheism could reasonably qualify. It's a mindset held by a minority, and it's a mindset with some very negative side-effects, like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism.
Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.
Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.
ThePainefulTruth
Romantic-Cynic
Atheism is one of only two reasonable positions (along with deism) on the existence of God. But many, particularly younger men, tend to adopt it as a form of negative rebellion against the irrational indoctrination by the church of their birth, as opposed to something they feel positive connection with like deism or just dump-it-all materialism/humanism. Women, I think, who seek a similar rebellion, more often tend to go off the deep end with Wicca, paganism or the like, though in fewer numbers.
Rick O'Shez
Irishman bouncing off walls
Fear of logic and reason?! Incoherent views?! You're much more likely to find those among theists actually.
If given the choice between being say, delusional or being a theist, I'd find it hard to tell the difference.
outhouse
Atheistically
So is intelligence.
With education and intelligence, there is often a sharp drop in extreme theism and ultra orthodox beliefs.
Many theist would qualify for this before atheism. its a pattern we see here for the most part from theist, not atheist.
Who else would go against all education and knowledge and deny the facts of evolution? Theist.
Who thinks the earth is 6000 years old and made in a week? Theist
Above is a perfect example of your quote below
Yerda
Veteran Member
Is that you, Pat Robertson?
Moni_Gail
ELIGE MAGISTRUM
Yet another exerpt from my thesis on the neurological basis for belief:
We evolved to favor type 1 errors because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they erred on the side of caution and assumed that the rustle in the bushes was a predator, even if it was only the wind. Because of our tendency towards type 1 errors, we are said to have Hyperactive Agency Detector Devices (HADD) and are more likely to perceive agency where there is none. In psychological terms this is known as Theory of Mind and it is the basis for animistic belief as well as other belief systems which hold that, often invisible, agents control the world.
Peter Brugger administered L-DOPA to skeptics; it is used to increase dopamine concentrations within the central nervous system. Armed with higher concentrations of dopamine, the skeptics showed a type 1 error bias and significantly less type 2 errors. These results are compounded by the information that schizophrenics tend to have high levels of dopamine
Intelligence, emotional stability, sense of humor, and any other complex human expression cannot be pinned down to one gene. These are all the products of complex interactive feedback loops between environment and genes. Genetic factors can, and probably do, play a significant role – most complex traits come down to fifty percent genetics and fifty percent environment. The vesicular monoamine transporter 2, or VMAT2 gene, was popularized by geneticist Dean Hamer as the God Gene. VMAT2 is a neuro transporter. Like many others, it plays a role in the production of monoamines, such as dopamine. Brugger demonstrated the correlational link between religiosity and dopamine levels in the brain. However, Hamer’s results are quite difficult to accept because he has yet to submit his data for peer review. Instead Hamer rushed to publish a mass produced book with a sensationalized title, and in the meantime those that have attempted to replicate his results have been unsuccessful. Perhaps my bias is also showing after his last failed attempt at the same game. The last time I heard Hamer’s name, he had rushed out to publish a book claiming to have found the genetic link to homosexuality without going through the peer review process first. It was later discovered that he was wrong.
We evolved to favor type 1 errors because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they erred on the side of caution and assumed that the rustle in the bushes was a predator, even if it was only the wind. Because of our tendency towards type 1 errors, we are said to have Hyperactive Agency Detector Devices (HADD) and are more likely to perceive agency where there is none. In psychological terms this is known as Theory of Mind and it is the basis for animistic belief as well as other belief systems which hold that, often invisible, agents control the world.
Peter Brugger administered L-DOPA to skeptics; it is used to increase dopamine concentrations within the central nervous system. Armed with higher concentrations of dopamine, the skeptics showed a type 1 error bias and significantly less type 2 errors. These results are compounded by the information that schizophrenics tend to have high levels of dopamine
Intelligence, emotional stability, sense of humor, and any other complex human expression cannot be pinned down to one gene. These are all the products of complex interactive feedback loops between environment and genes. Genetic factors can, and probably do, play a significant role – most complex traits come down to fifty percent genetics and fifty percent environment. The vesicular monoamine transporter 2, or VMAT2 gene, was popularized by geneticist Dean Hamer as the God Gene. VMAT2 is a neuro transporter. Like many others, it plays a role in the production of monoamines, such as dopamine. Brugger demonstrated the correlational link between religiosity and dopamine levels in the brain. However, Hamer’s results are quite difficult to accept because he has yet to submit his data for peer review. Instead Hamer rushed to publish a mass produced book with a sensationalized title, and in the meantime those that have attempted to replicate his results have been unsuccessful. Perhaps my bias is also showing after his last failed attempt at the same game. The last time I heard Hamer’s name, he had rushed out to publish a book claiming to have found the genetic link to homosexuality without going through the peer review process first. It was later discovered that he was wrong.
Monk Of Reason
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Are you serious? In what way?
jonathan180iq
Well-Known Member
My thesis was actually a study on optimism and morality in the work place based on the subjective responses of both the pious and their counterparts. The results showed no difference between the two.