Dr. Jonathan Haidt: Religion Central to Human Evolution

Pardon me if I gloat just a bit. Last month I wrote a long post about how Evolutionary Theory Suggests Religion Has an Adaptive Value, contrary to the simplistic writings of the New Atheists. My argument was largely based upon the work of David Sloane Wilson and Emile Durkheim. Today’s NY Times Science section has a long article about a new book that takes this argument further. "In a series of recent articles and a book, “The Happiness Hypothesis,” Jonathan Haidt, a moral psychologist at the University of Virginia, has been constructing a broad evolutionary view of morality that traces its connections both to religion and to politics."

So one thing is clear: when it comes to religion and the human species, there is no one scientific view that is accepted. Rather, an increasing number of scientists take the view that, from an evolutionary standpoint, religion has been an adaptive net plus for the human species. As I wrote in the earlier post, Richard Dawkins now admits as much--he just kind of soft sold this point in his book. He should send the memo to other New Atheists, who continue to spread the lie that religion and evolutionary adaptation are in conflict.


Is ‘Do Unto Others’ Written Into Our Genes?

By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: September 18, 2007


Where do moral rules come from? From reason, some philosophers say. From God, say believers. Seldom considered is a source now being advocated by some biologists, that of evolution. (snip)

Of the moral systems that protect individuals, one is concerned with preventing harm to the person and the other with reciprocity and fairness. Less familiar are the three systems that promote behaviors developed for strengthening the group. These are loyalty to the in-group, respect for authority and hierarchy, and a sense of purity or sanctity.

The five moral systems, in Dr. Haidt’s view, are innate psychological mechanisms that predispose children to absorb certain virtues. Because these virtues are learned, morality may vary widely from culture to culture, while maintaining its central role of restraining selfishness. In Western societies, the focus is on protecting individuals by insisting that everyone be treated fairly. Creativity is high, but society is less orderly. In many other societies, selfishness is suppressed “through practices, rituals and stories that help a person play a cooperative role in a larger social entity,” Dr. Haidt said. (snip)

The idea that morality and sacredness are intertwined, he said, may now be out of fashion but has a venerable pedigree, tracing back to Emile Durkheim, a founder of sociology.

Dr. Haidt believes that religion has played an important role in human evolution by strengthening and extending the cohesion provided by the moral systems. “If we didn’t have religious minds we would not have stepped through the transition to groupishness,” he said. “We’d still be just small bands roving around.”

Religious behavior may be the result of natural selection, in his view, shaped at a time when early human groups were competing with one another. “Those who found ways to bind themselves together were more successful,” he said.