Scientific Explanations for Religion
According to the Hypersensitive Agency-Detecting Device (HADD) mechanism, it allows humans to “perceive that many things have agency or the ability to act of their own accord” (Palermo, 2015). This mechanism was developed as based on survivability of humans, who did not try to think too much about the causality of natural events and believed that things could happen due to their own agencies, who subsequently passed this mechanism to subsequent generations through reproduction. This mechanism allowed humans to attribute agencies to even non-living things or natural events. With time, the belief on independent agencies of these natural processes led to the development of the belief of supernatural beings through which these agencies were believed to ultimately originate. Humanity started to believe that even events like rainfall, drought etc. were acting by themselves, and that they were deriving this agency from a supernatural being that had authority over them.
Such belief mechanisms could be considered as an explanation developed by human beings to find answers to questions about life and the world that might have plagued them. Questions such as ‘why does it rain?’ ‘why do birds fly?’ ‘why do we have days and nights?’ ‘what are the stars in the sky’ etc. might have troubled their thoughts. As such, they might have searched for answers just so they could satisfy their urge to seek. Yoffe (2009) states that humans are hardwired to be curious and search for answers. It also states that “this desire to search is not just about fulfilling our physical needs.” Finding answers releases the dopamine neurotransmitter in our brains that give us a sense of pleasure. Even if the answers do not provide any physical or tangible benefits, humans can still be excited to have answers for questions that are more philosophical in nature. Palermo (2015) and its concept of HADD mechanism correlates to Yoffe (2009) and people’s desire to seek answer because it helps us gain an understanding of how humans, in order to search for answers about the world, ended up with beliefs of natural causes having independent beliefs, which later formed into organized religions.
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Religions and religious systems originally developed in small scale societies where the gods were believed to not be concerned about the daily activities of humans. However, as societies got bigger and complex, the nature of gods were depicted to having more interest on humans. Religious systems, all over the world, were used to promote certain desired moralizing ideals as well as garner cooperation amongst the people in the society. This likely emerged from the belief that natural events were influenced by the powers of the god, and that worshipping such gods might result in societies gaining favor from them. Based on anthropological evidence, societies that suffered due to ecological stress started to create religious systems surrounding moralizing gods, that were often considered as ‘Big Gods’ that had dominion over major natural events of the earth.
Based on archeological and historical evidence, it is observed that such ritualistic systems became more formal with elaborate rituals. These rituals helped solidify the position and influence of religious systems that helped tie larger societies together. These systems were also further recorded in order to pass down the knowledge to future generations. These written records provide more evidence of how large-scale cooperation was spearheaded by elaborate rituals. An example is made of Abrahamic religions and how the texts reveal “the gradual evolution of the Abrahamic god from a rather limited, whimsical, tribal god- a subordinate in the Canaanite Pantheon – to the unitary, supreme, moralizing deity of two of the world’s largest religious communities (Norenzayan et al, p8).
Religious Origins of Science
Survival of humans became tied to their ability to read the motions of planets, the sun, and the moon. This was largely because they provided valuable information regarding the migratory patterns of animals or weather patterns to determine the onset of a season. “With the invention of agriculture, the seasons became even more crucial, for failure to recognize the proper time for planting could lead to starvation” (Willaims, n.d). The study of stars, which is also called astronomy played a huge role in some of the most ancient civilizations such as Egypt, India and China because who tried to study their order and positions, as well as note cosmological events such as witnessing comets etc. They tried to use astronomy in order to create their calendars based on which they executed their religious ceremonies and tasks. Civilizations such as Egypt believed that the stars and planets had the power to influence the material world during their Ascendant period. Mayans used astronomy to keep track of solar and lunar eclipses that were considered auspicious for their religious rituals. Mesopotamian civilizations used to keep track of the skies because they believed that could help them foretell any upcoming disasters.
Science during the medieval times was used for finding utilitarian purposes, but they also focused on using it as a means to understand God. An example is made of the study of light. “Light, as Genesis makes clear, was among the first creations of God.” (Williams, n.d.). Thus, certain clerics such as Robert Grosseteste theorized that light created space and matter and that it subsequently “solidified into heavenly spheres”. The significance of light given by religious texts lured scholars to study and observe the properties of light. This led them to find its various characteristics, such as that of a rainbow. Scholars also studied other scientific notions that had significance from a religious standpoint. For example, they studied the concept of motion and what it entailed for religious beliefs. Certain philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas, used the theory of motion to explain the existence of god. He uses Aristotle’s explanation of motion and how that there a force must be used upon an object to bring it to motion. Thus, someone must be influencing the world and exerting its force in order for everything to have motion.
Copernicus started out working for the church, where he tried to create a modern astronomical apparatus to help the church make calculations such as setting proper dates for Easter or other festivals. He tried to work on the problems of the Ptolemaic astronomical system that “that rhapsodized on enlightenment and on the source of light, the Sun.” (Williams, n.d.). However, as the result of his work, he went against the prevalent belief of the astronomical order, and placed the sun at the center of the cosmos rather than the earth. He was also able to place planets in order based upon their distance from the sun by calculating their revolution speed. Copernicus’ findings also forced scholars to ponder upon the fact that the stars were also “too far away that the parallax was too small to be detected.” (Williams, n.d.). This was also thought in relation to theology where the question was raised whether God intended to have vast amounts of empty space between the stars.
Science and Religion as Narrative and Metaphor
The Cartesian dualism, named after Rene Descartes, segregated the immaterial mind from the material body. He had come upon the realization that science did not address experiences of the mind, that are direct and human by their nature. He believed that the separation between mind and body was absolute and that “immaterial essences that gave form and structure to this universe were coded in geometrical and mathematical ideas, and this insight led him to invent algebraic geometry” (Nadeau and Kafatos, p ix). His contributions led to the scientific belief system which believed that this universe could be observed “laid out in three-dimensional coordinates” (Nadeau and Kafatos, p ix). Such belief was further encouraged by works of Isaac Newton and his work ‘Principia Mathematica’, which reduced the world into its materialistic format, that could be modelled based on mathematics. Such observations influenced subsequent scientists to perceive this world from a scientific perspective that was mechanistic in nature. The concept of deism tried to connect between mind and the physical body through reason. However, Judeo-Christian religions considered rationality to be a |”test of faith”, and were of the opinion that only through divine revelation could they ascertain spiritual reality. This further created a distance between theologians and scientists, with the latter pursuing the path of a materialistic interpretation of the world.
Scientism promotes the idea that the materialistic perception is the best way to observe the universe. As such, “materialism refers to a way of life devoted entirely to material interests, a preoccupation with wealth, possessions and luxury” (Sheldrake, 2013, p 8). The belief on materialistic science is also idealistic in nature where most outsiders perceive science as something that is purely based on conclusions and hard evidence. However, such beliefs fail to notice the humanistic elements of scientists themselves that may affect the end results. Such elements include peer pressure, a competition for funds, prejudices etc. Because the materialistic science and its dogmas fail to perceive the mental and spiritual aspects of humans, factors such as human emotions are not taken into consideration. Dogmatic beliefs may also not help towards helping non-scientists to understand more about science. Usually, most people agree or believe in science without not knowing much about it themselves. Such factors limit scientific progress and may lead towards unreasonable expectations.
The machine metaphor originated during the 17th century, when Europe was plagued with several religious wars. Scientists gravitated towards mechanical nature because it allowed them to rise above such conflicts and observe the world in a more objective manner. However, there were certain limitations of the machine metaphor. Galileo observed “most of our experience is not mathematics. We taste food, feel angry, enjoy the beauty of flowers, laugh at jokes” (Sheldrake, 2013, p 34). As such, he divided between primary qualities that covered objective realities that could be mathematically proven, and secondary qualities such as emotions that were subjective in nature. However, mechanistic view was also reductionist in nature where it tries to explain the whole through the sum of its parts. However, holistic philosophy tries to see an organism as more than the sum of its parts. As such, it agrees with both mechanistic as well as vitalism-based concepts where it agrees that the world is made of physical systems but that it could also not be broken down just to the physics or chemistry.
Relationship between Religion & Science
Conflict
The discussion of emotional pain and existential suffering conflicts with science and scientific naturalism because it is largely based on reductionism and the materialistic view of the world. “Scientific naturalism addresses humanity’s persistent religious questions, but it does so by first reducing everything that exists to physical or material stuff” (Haught, 2013, Chapter 2). However, emotions and existential suffering are intangible issues that do not have a materialistic basis. Thus, from a scientific purview, which tries to analyze the whole through the sum of its parts, it is not able to observe such abstract concepts. Even though if it can be inferred through repeated observation that struggles and hardships have a causal connection to emotional pain and existential suffering, the latter themselves cannot be quantified and observed in their physicality.
Contrast
However, such problems, that do not have material characteristics, can still be identified and observed based on the narrative coherence of the lives of people and their stories. “To read a story means to look for narrative coherence, not for mechanical; and architectural elegance” (Haught, 2013, Chapter 3). The struggles of people are therefore not expressed through any materialistic means but through stories of people that are not to be analyzed through mechanical means. Science can incorporate such stories into its forum because many other scientific discoveries have also been telling the world a story. For example, the theory of evolution provides the world with a narrative of how species of the world have evolved through natural selection through millions of years. There is a consistence with the story as every organism has followed the same principles for their evolution. In contrast, it has also replaced the previously held theological stories of creation. Thus, the narrative coherence of humans can be perceived as a holistic approach where they are not only determined by their materialistic parts but also their emotions and suffering that form their mental aspects.
Convergence
However, a balance can be struck between the reductionist approach as well as the holistic approach where the mental aspects of a person can be determined using both of approaches. The layered explanation provides a platform through which both the materialistic and narrative approach can be applied on a person. “Layered explanation means that different levels of explanation may coexist without mutual tension or opposition” (Haught, 2013, Chapter 6). Thus, it is possible that the cause of a person’s misery and emotional pain can be inferred by going through his or her story. However, further research could be conducted towards observing the implications of those emotions on the person’s body. Through the reductionist approach, a person who is suffering from extreme amounts of emotional pain can have his or her brain examined so as to determine if whether such pain can be absolved through medications that would affect the brain itself. Thus, science can be used to cure the emotional pain and existential suffering, it both the reductionist and narrative coherence are applied simultaneously using a layered approach.
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