tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22093933.post8452828151900450895..comments2024-03-28T09:41:15.454-05:00Comments on Deric's MindBlog: Neural correlates of religious belief - neuroscience and spiritualityDeric Bowndshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617204535017208765noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22093933.post-69887868207088236582010-12-04T09:51:33.637-06:002010-12-04T09:51:33.637-06:00To Ergo Ratio
I was going to try to say something...To Ergo Ratio<br /><br />I was going to try to say something funny about "no-one ever said it was a survival mechanism for individuals in the modern world"!<br /><br />But I have reconsidered my original thought and think that perhaps it has become one?<br /><br />We are stuck with a brain that essentially evolved to deal with relatively simple survival decisions, but what are the evolutionary survival traits for today?<br /><br />As an individual they are the same as they have always been - improvement in the probability of producing the next generation.<br /><br />However, for our species as a whole, we may have to consider that survival factors have changed significantly since our brain evolved, especially in the last 200 years, and that survival of our species beyond another 10 or 20 generations may depend on quite different evolutionary factors to the recent past.<br /><br />The ability to ignore what should scare us may be an evolutionary survival mechanism that has worked so far, but may spell our doom as a species in the future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22093933.post-26294386374599766682010-12-04T09:10:40.118-06:002010-12-04T09:10:40.118-06:00I think you are missing the point on the differenc...I think you are missing the point on the differences between faith, probability and certainty.<br /><br />There are 2 things that can normally be considered certain - past events and things that are measurable by dimension, time, etc.<br /><br />You appear to be comparing faith and probability. In relation to your shopping trip example, there is a measurable probability and measurable confidence level of that probability (depending on how often you have taken the trip previously), that you will return from a shopping trip safely, with a higher probability wearing a seat belt.<br /><br />Sane (Oops - lol) people make their decision either consciously or unconsciously based on this probability.<br /><br />Faith, on the other hand, says that god will protect the believer with no empirical evidence to support that decision.<br /><br />There is NO measurable effect (except where studies have proved a negative effect, most likely due lack of due care and attention because of belief in god's protection of the believer) of faith or the power of prayer to improve the probability of a safe journey or any other real world event.<br /><br />Certainty is that someone is going to win the next lottery. The probability on a single ticket winning is one in a million, faith is that the winner will be you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22093933.post-40497050081514432802009-03-16T13:11:00.000-05:002009-03-16T13:11:00.000-05:00Minimizes the experience of error? That would have...Minimizes the experience of error? That would have potentially disasterous effects in any system of process control.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22093933.post-68446320610428349182009-03-16T09:31:00.000-05:002009-03-16T09:31:00.000-05:00Deric, I'd like to throw something in the mix here...Deric, I'd like to throw something in the mix here and see what happens. (I'm a Bono "green hat" btw.)<BR/><BR/>Faith is seen to be a religious concept that science places on a line with knowledge as its inverse, and in place of faith, science uses the concept of certainty. Ironically, I see religious people use the concept of faith when in actuality, they too are engaged in certainty. I bring this up to you, to see if there is something else to look for in neuroscience research.<BR/>I'll explain:<BR/><BR/>The main difference between faith and certainty (and conviction) is that a situation which asks us for our faith is a situation which requires us to trust. (Btw, faith is merely the noun form of the verb, believe. I believe x, or I have faith in x are equal)<BR/>The mundane act of driving to the grocery store for tonight's dinner is a faith situation; if you didn't believe, that in driving, you would return home safely, you wouldn't drive. Likewise, if you didn't trust in other drivers, you wouldn't share the road.<BR/><BR/>Certainty on the other hand, is only a coherent strategy in situations that don't require trust; things like measurement or events that have already occurred fit into the concept of certainty. If a driver is certain of his safe return, then to be coherent, he should leave his seat belt off.<BR/><BR/>When the element requiring our trust is removed from the situation, whether done appropriately or mistakenly, the human dynamic involved switches from faith to certainty. Inherent to the strategy of faith, is a flexibility born from acknowledging, that while the object of my faith is credible-I will return safely-I recognize incomplete knowing- I better wear my seat belt. <BR/><BR/>One more difference between the two dynamics. When one is engaged in a trust situation by means of certainty, you will find that person to be inflexible, rigid. True faith in this situation supports flexibility and is open to the unknown. Do you see what I mean when I note that, oftentimes, religious people are really utilizing certainty when they use the word faith?<BR/> <BR/>So I'm wondering in this context, can the distinction that I'm making between faith and certainty, be somehow mapped?Mike Gottschalkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03570606130437615456noreply@blogger.com