Monday, September 04, 2006

God-Shaped Hole

The battle by scientists against "irrational" beliefs such as creationism is ultimately futile, a leading experimental psychologist said today.

The work of Bruce Hood, a professor at Bristol University, suggests that magical and supernatural beliefs are hardwired into our brains from birth, and that religions are therefore tapping into a powerful psychological force.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The battle against "irrational" beliefs.

Don't you just love those scare-quotes?

I wonder what they think is a genuinely irrational belief?

Anonymous said...

I must say religion is a hard thing to get out of one's head. I suppose it's because, in the Christian case at least, it provides an 'alternative' to death, so to speak.

Anonymous said...

like arguing against global warming?

Squander Two said...

Human beings are primates, and primates can't comprehend the idea of anything working without an alpha male at the top of it.