TIPSters...
Dan Kruger wrote...
<snip>
> Given the recent findings that religious beliefs/behaviors may contribute
>to >our well being even after other likely influences are controlled for
>(e.g., >http://www.newswatch.org/mediacritic/july99/990701m1.htm), it is
>likely that >the capacity for religious/supernatural beliefs has been
>adaptive for our >survival and reproduction.
I would question the adaptiveness argument here, using several case
studies. People sometimes develop religious beliefs that lead to a
decidely anti-survival consequences.
For example, the followers of Jim Jones elevated him to a god-like status
after witnessing "supernatural" abilities such as "psychic surgery" (it's
amazing how well cleverly-hidden chicken parts can look like human
intestines!; see James Randi's "Flim-Flam" for other examples). These same
followers then died when Jones poisoned them. A similar case can be made
about Marshall Applewhite and the Heaven's Gate mass suicide of a few years
ago.
Overall, there is real DANGER, for certain people, in developing certain
beliefs that are not grounded in reality. How do we deal with such
irrational thinking? It's not easy, but one possibility is that people
need to be taught how to apply critical thhinking skills to their
decisions, and how to accurately evaluate evidence.
Cheers,
Lou
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Dr. Louis Manza phone: (717) 867-6193
Assistant Professor of Psychology fax: (717) 867-6075
Lebanon Valley College E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Annville, PA 17003
"Living in the limelight, the universal dream...for
those who wish to seem. Those who wish to be...must
put aside the alienation, get on with the fascination,
the real relation, the underlying theme."
Rush, "Limelight" (lyrics, N. Peart)
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