At 02:57 PM 2/27/99 +1100, "Timothy Bates" <tbates@karri.bhs.mq.edu.au> wrote:
>
>I think that the current high retained levels of religion in the western
>world cannot be explained by anything other than a genetic predisposition,
>especially when they are found in otherwise intelligent and worldly people.
>
In my opinion, there are three fundamental reasons
why people believe in religion.
The first factor is the human predilection for anthropomorphism. See '#TL05AB: ANTHROPOMORPHISM AND RELATED PHENOMENA' <http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/tl05ab.htm>.
The second factor is what remains in the human brain and psyche from our "bicameral heritage." See 'The Other Side of Religion' <http://www.buildfreedom.com/otherside.htm>, with particular emphasis on 'Appendix - The Biological Basis for Religion.'
The third factor can be inferred from Al Siebert's book, 'Peaking Out: How My Mind Broke Free from the Delusions of Psychiatry.' It could be called the "aggrandized-noun" phenomenon. It derives from Melanie Klein's insight she called the "good-mother/bad-mother split": "...each infant experiences two different beings in its life -- a good, powerful, nurturing, comforting, all-knowing being and a bad, hurting, dangerous one." [Look up "Melanie Klein" in the Index.]
Frederick Mann
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