Big Claims Follow Small Findings

[Mriana]

Big Claims Follow Small Findings

 

This article sheds some light on that stupid article that says atheist are like salmon.

 

Research launched this week that seems to indicate that human beings are naturally superstitious and irrational was cheered by some religious sources. They concluded that if religion is part of human nature, then atheists are fighting a losing battle against the basic hardwiring of homo sapiens.

 

Meanwhile, another scientist said that religion might be useful in tackling the climate change crisis because people might change their wasteful ways if they are told that if they don't, God will punish them. This theory has been spun by some religionists into the conclusion that belief in God has many advantages and should therefore be encouraged.

 

But an awkward question then arises: if it is true that belief in God is hardwired into the human brain, why are there so many atheists?

 

One of the researchers, Bruce Hood, professor of developmental psychology at Bristol University, said, "Our research shows children have a natural, intuitive way of reasoning that leads them to all kinds of supernatural beliefs about how the world works. As they grow up they overlay these beliefs with more rational approaches; but, the tendency to illogical supernatural beliefs remains as religion."

 

Hood, who presented his findings at the British Science Association's annual meeting this week, sees organized religion as just part of a spectrum of supernatural beliefs. In one study he found that even convinced atheists balked at the idea of accepting an organ transplant from a murderer because of a superstitious belief that an individual's personality could be stored in their organs. "This shows how superstition is hardwired into our brains," he said.

 

Ah, superstition is hardwired, not specifically "faith in God," as the religionists would have it.

 

In absolute terms both these stories are bad news for religion. The fact that religious belief is a biological accident vastly increases the probability that man invented God rather than the other way round. And the ancient usefulness of religion for controlling small communities doesn't work in a globalised world - indeed, it becomes a liability.

 

Pitcher thinks he has created a no-win situation for Dawkins - if Dawkins respects science then he must respect these findings, even though they are against what he believes to be the truth. And, indeed, Dawkins has often said that he is prepared to change his mind in the face of evidence.

 

But simply misrepresenting (or misunderstanding) the findings of scientific research and then demanding that real scientists accept your own wishful thinking about those findings just won't do.

 

What was that you were saying about being a "gullible weirdo," Mr. Pitcher? In this instance, it's a case of "if the cap fits"...

 

Check out the whole article on HNN (Humanist News Network).

[Shyone]

Big Claims Follow Small Findings

 

This article sheds some light on that stupid article that says atheist are like salmon.

 

Check out the whole article on HNN (Humanist News Network).

I even read the article, but I don't see the problem for Dawkins. Science is the tool that removes any hardwired superstition and replaces speculation with facts. The "religionist" is trying to paint science with the same brush as mythology. The two are not equivalent.

 

But I'll let Dawkins speak for himself.

[Mriana]

You just added another reason as to why the study HNN discuss is inaccurate.