How did the human brain evolved to believe in supernatural things?

Question

Hey!!! it´s only a question, I think Hebrews were the first people that believed in a single and everymigthy god, but why and how does our brain believes on that?

For people who believe, its only a question, I respect all ideas

Answer 1

It could have come to us with burial of the dead but that is not exactly limited to humans with some animals doing it, be it out of love or survival, not wanting a death smell to attract hungry animals.  (I personally have seen love in animal relationships) I think it came about at the same time as the ability to do art, which is abstract thinking and cave paintings give us a date of about 30,000 years ago.  Sure, it came earlier but we, at least, have a date with cave paintings. Art and religion are interwoven a great deal.  Early artist would have awed people with their skill and would have been chosen as priest.  Others skilled in healing the sick would have also been chosen as priest.  I want to contradict an earlier answer that the Hebrews borrowed from the Egyptians.  It is possible but it seems more likely the one and only Egyptian leader that embraced a single God would have taken it from another group.  The Hebrews were located in an area that was important to trading and would had more exposure to all kinds of thinking which most likely lead them to what I call advance thinking.

Answer 2

It rather makes sence from an evolutionary standpoint.  

You get one dominant human (or perhaps a few related humans) who are good leaders/providers of the group.  

They manage to convince most of their tribe of a few subernatural beliefs.  Rituals develop around those beliefs.  Rituals help unify people, and draw them together.  Yet a few in the tribe disagree with those beliefs.  

Let's say the belief is that three days before a hunt, the men should not have s*x, and shall sit in a sweat lodge chanting and eating sparingly.

However two of the men do not believe, and go off to have s*x, and eat a fine stew their mates cooked up.

All the men go on the hunt, but it's a complete disaster.  Men are killed/wounded and no game is taken.  

What happens?  They blame the two men who did not perform the rituals.  The men are possibly driven from the tribe, or killed.

This leaves the people who believe to continue to procreate with each other, and raise children who's brains are also open to accepting supernatural beliefs.

Believers band together, shunning, driving away, or killing non-believers.  As this happens more and more over time, it becomes a form of natural selection.  The children of believers who brains are most able to be accepting of supernatural beliefs fit in, and do very well in the tribe.  Non-believers do not fair so well.

~Garnet

Answer 3

I think you're right about the proto-Jews!

Their calendar is over 5700 years old. This implies that their culture was intact at that time, and supernatural stories were passed on by Oral Tradition. Probably to soften the finality of death...

Monotheism didn't arrive in Egypt until 3500 years ago, with the Pharaoh Akhenaten. The Sumerians who preceeded the Proto-Jews, had no concept of Heaven. When you died, that was it!

Answer 4

Fear of death.

Answer 5

We use ritual burrials as an indicator of belief in an afterlife or the supernatural. Therefore, Homo erectus was the 1st to use a form of ceremonial burrial .  Both neandertal & sapien had some form of creremonial burrial too.

The Egyptian god Ra was the 1st recorded monotheistic god & it is probable the Hebrew got their ideas from the Egyptians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_...

http://www.submission.info/perspectives/...

Edit: Dr. Jane Goodall made this observation of Chimps that I find a significant indicator of belief in the supernatural... see what you think.

http://www.science-spirit.org/article_de...

Some information on the history of writing that contradicts the viewpoints expressed by some responders.

http://www.historian.net/hxwrite.htm

Answer 6

The Hebrews were not the first monotheist.

The human brain did not evolve to think in that way it always was part of our wiring.

If, may be an English word but it is expresses in all of humanity followed by why?

Answer 7

The human brain is designed to look for patterns. In terms of evolution, this makes sense. Say you have two hunters who pass a shrub that slightly resembles a tiger. One goes "Oh c**p, a tiger!" and runs away. The other doesn't see the pattern. Well, what if it WAS a tiger?

Organisms who are more 'superstitious' are more likely to survive. This can be seen, as well, in the form of certain practices: for example, some societies use herbs to cure some illnesses. However, those same societies use plants that have NO benefit to "cure" some other illnesses. It's better to be superstitious and sometimes wrong than not to be superstitious at all; the net benefit of being superstitious, in that sense, is positive.

I'm probably not describing this too well, but that about sums it up. Animals are pattern-seeking, and we tend to ascribe anthropomorphic properties to things that we now know are completely inanimate. Almost all cultures anthropomorphize nature, whether it be God or Totemism or Animism, whatever.

The human brain didn't "evolve" to believe in supernatural beings, it's just a side-effect of our pattern-seeking behavior that is innate in all humans.

Answer 8

Don't blame the human brain for religion. Mankind is solely to blame.

It is up to each of us how we use the most amazing organ in our body!

Answer 9

Our brain is curious. If the technology doesn't exist to explain something, we'll make something up.

Answer 10

I think that, as the humans developed their brain and reasoning abilities they sought to understand natural phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, lightning, floods etc, but failed to do so. The easiest explanation was that these activities had a life of their own, and animism - where non-living things such as mountains and seas have a will of their own, and are worthy of respect - developed. From that, there would have arisen the mountain-god, sea-god etc, then the all powerful, disembodied gods etc etc.

People need answers, and in the absence of logical reasoning, replace them with the supernatural.

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Answer 11

Every known culture except perhaps some modern Marxists ones (and that is arguable) have those beliefs.  It is easy to conclude that it must be something in the human psyche that requires this.  This would imply a religious gene that makes us susceptible to group belief.  I certainly have seen evidence of this.  On the other hand, I am convinced that there are things that we don't understand and a belief in the afterlife and spirit world may be more real than many so called thinkers might be prepared to acknowledge.

Answer 12

it started out as a joke . We were just chilling out having a BBQ over the 4ths sun in Valigalase and satin said You think your so bad . well lets find out how bad you are . and I said OK . lets make a people and see how long it takes for them to figure out they are pets . then we will set them together and let them fight over who is the strongest . Satan agreed and these other guys that were there wanted in on it . we never thought that you guys would take it so seriously . we actually thought that you would have killed yourself off by now . and our wives are pissed off we been waiting out here for 3 days . and the neighbors are starting to talk . So if you don't mind . we will be back later . by by now

Answer 13

brain is stupid..just a meat..knows nothing..

Answer 14

I think that human beings must have some sort of belief in a "higher being" that will guide them and reward them in the afterlife!

Without belief in a "higher being" there would be no real reason to be a good person!  If you believe that by helping your fellow man, not involve yourself in needless killing, by being honest in your dealings, being supportive of a wife and family and cooperate with your neighbors you will be rewarded in the afterlife gives purpose to your life!