Lecture : SCAR 1B03 Lecture 8
Document Summary
Discusses the brain"s structure and human evolutionary pathways as the basis for our religious experiences. Began in the late 20th century but thrived during the 21st century. Not necessarily a reductionist approach to the study of religion. New findings challenge the previous behaviorist model which assumed human mind as a blank slate . Arguably, our thoughts and actions are shaped by innate dispositions and conceptions rooted in our evolutionary, biological, and genetic blueprint. There are pre-cultural factors that shape our worldviews and behaviors. Religious functions of our minds rely on our neural or evolutionary functions. Our religious assumptions contrast our day-to-day experiences. We possess a hyperactive agency detection device (hadd), an inbuilt evolutionary tendency to attribute agency to supernatural beings or creatures. New hypothesis like predictive processing theory, question hadd and suggest that our experience of supernatural beings is not merely neural, but also influenced by our cultural environment.
