Caveman instincts may explain our belief in gods and ghosts

originally posted by: Assassin82
...Sometimes I wonder if the concept of God came from one ancient caveman's perception, who passed it on to his fellow tribesmen and women. Word of a higher being causing the unknown to happen spread from tribe to tribe and evolved into a multitude of religious beliefs. My struggle between faith and science will continue, but this article is spot on with some theories I've come up with my own over time.

I agree with much of what was said earlier in your post.
I, however, do not see what you (and, likewise, the OP) are suggesting, here, as plausible.
Maybe you have some deeper understanding of the Human Psyche than I...but, I do not see one brilliant caveman's perception of theretofore abstract beings, becoming universally accepted...without The Royal Seal...
The The Royal Seal being - 'corroborating evidence/s'. (Said 'corroborating evidences' are normally what is required in the human psyche, to cement a belief.)
Whether it is we (human beings), or animals of any species...we can intellectually hypothesize ANYTHING...
We can hypothesize that "The Wind blows dirt in my eyes when I have a bad thought"...
And, might even believe it when two or three or more times, we 'thought something' that might be counted 'bad/wrong', and dirt blew into our eye/s.
But then...over the course of time...when finding that we've had thoughts that were later proven wrong...and...no dirt was blown in our eyes, upon having the thought...
Our trust/belief in said "Agency"...is weakened...
So - How Many Freakin' Thousands of Years...of waiting for the God/gods/Spooks/Aliens to show up...was the entirety of Humanity willing to sit/suffer through...and allow the silly ideas of this/(these) historic Caveman Einstein(s) to continue to fall flat on their noses...before allowing their ever-evolving brains to confront Caveman Einstein as being Caveman Dunce.
According to the OP's argument - FOREVER.
Caveman-hardwired-Brains continue to Prevail.

a reply to: WanDash

It's just a theory that's ran through my head, nothing more. Basically, go back in time when there was no electricity, no comfortable beds, no restaurants, etc. You look up to the stars, and the human brain wonders, "what the heck is that?' You see a volcano errupt; "who did that?" The earth shakes, a tornado takes out a neighboring tribe, a hurricane destroys everything. All the things of Mother Nature and there is absolutely no explanation.

Somebody, created fire; thus somebody could create a volcano. I can take a deep breath and blow an ant off a rock, so that means somebody could have tried to blow me off an island with a hurricane. The stars at night aren't there during the day....well to be honest, I can't really fathom what early cave men thought about stars with their primitive minds.

Point is, as the human mind developed, I could see how a basic mind would build a connection between natural events and a God being the result of it. I've also considered Religions to have been made up as a means to control ancient civilization. Many different theories that have popped into my head. The one idea that makes the least sense to me, is the belief that our planet is only 6,000 years old. That one throws me for a big loop.

a reply to: Assassin82

As far as the OP. I don't think it would be one caveman who, when he saw grass move and assumed it was a lion rather then the wind. I think there would be many who did. I think in a "Tarzan" type society assuming that everything you heard or saw was a threat would be a HUGE advantage. Even today, How long would you last in the Australian outback if you didn't assume every time you heard the grass rustle it was a snake?



The one truely questionable thing about religion, that I have. Is the fact it appears Neanderthals had belief in an afterlife as well. They buried there dead with their possessions. You wouldn't bury useful tools with the dead unless you thought they would need them some how. However even this doesn't mean there's a god... It probubally just means that it was a species before Neanderthal who first came up with it. Passing it down to all the hominids who came after.

originally posted by: Assassin82
It's just a theory that's ran through my head, nothing more. Basically, go back in time when there was no electricity, no comfortable beds, no restaurants, etc. You look up to the stars, and the human brain wonders, "what the heck is that?' You see a volcano errupt; "who did that?" The earth shakes, a tornado takes out a neighboring tribe, a hurricane destroys everything. All the things of Mother Nature and there is absolutely no explanation.
…

Thanks.
Yeah – we all have theories. No better way to see how well they work, than to discuss & develop them.

As to your first premise – I would first ask – “Why didn’t they ask those questions previously? “ Meaning – why didn’t they (in previous evolutionary stages of development) wonder “what the heck is that?”.
Why would you or I consider that an evolutionarily advanced (significantly advanced, at that) brain…all of a sudden needed to create/derive an alternative explanation for what had been counted a ‘natural aspect of existence’ by ALL living & evolving creatures prior to said time?
I know that the notion is – “Hey – the real evolutionary advancement was ‘abstract’ thought.” But, in most circles, the expectation for continued survival would diminish tremendously, if those were the kinds of ‘scientific answers’ that took hold.
As to a basic mind building a connection between natural events and a God…having NEVER seen, heard, heard of, witnessed, felt, known or conceived of such a thing/notion – I do not see it as a natural consequence/possibility. I find it to exceed the bounds of what we actually Know of humanity’s innate resistance to the acceptance of ‘new thoughts, concepts, explanations’.
And – if there is no authoritative stamp (Divine Seal of Approval, if you will) that accompanies such theories – it will not stick.
Furthermore – I do not see Caveman Louie spending his/her time outside the cave pondering philosophical questions. In most cases, I see said Caveman’ on high alert at all times. Either looking for dinner, or trying to avoid becoming dinner.
As you suggested – Consider life before the comforts of Sleep-Aire mattresses, iTunes & Vending Machines…and, under that pretext, I do not believe ‘Caveman Louie’ would have been ‘comfortable-enough’ to sit outside under the night sky, contemplating ‘other explanations’ for the world around him/her…until some minimal level of comfort and security was a staple of existence.

Those are just my thoughts. Agree – Disagree – Don’t Care … Thanks again, for yours.

a reply to: AfterInfinity

The more concerning question is, did this disembodied intelligence exhibit more than a passing interest in your existence?

Howdy AI.

Well, you'd have to ask him/her/it/them... and one of the ones I ran into wasn't very ... er, nice. My ego would like to say "of course they were fascinated by me..." but I don't know. The (seemingly) nasty, manipulative 'thingy' did seem very interested in me... but maybe I was just a yummy energy snack?

It's a very subjective... subject, and the fact we can't measure it makes it literally nebulous... but all I was trying to say was that these things exist.... at least on some level and in some manner.

I know that certain people are inundated w/ "spirit," while others go through their lives never encountering one (or noticing)... but it doesn't invalidate their existence, however hard that is for most Westerners with a modicum of education and/or common sense to fathom.

The varied dogmas about them could very well be true... or it's a mixed bag of truth and human folly... but I look at it as if we know nothing about them for sure, because despite some folks thinking they have it all figured out, I beg to differ.

But, my main point, before coffee ramble took over and too seriously answered your funny-yet-thought-provoking post, was meant to be: "I was surprised these beings w/out visible bodies exist... and though I know asserting something that many think is ridiculous won't convince anyone of anything, I'd ask folks who are firmly entrenched in the "don't exist" camp to at least consider that the people who have experienced this phenomena are not all misinterpreting, lying, or insane.

I struggle with cognitive dissonance, denial and all that is associated with a changing reality construct, myself... but I think folks should be aware that disembodied beings exist (or at least could exist) ... since it might be quite important.