Basic instincts can shed light on human behavior and safeguard against modern trappings that we did not evolve around. Of all the modern elements that can hijack our evolved machinery, religion is among the most potent.
As you may have read in my first blog, feelings, emotions, pleasures, and pains always serve a purpose tied to basic instincts. That is, feelings evolved to get us to satisfy our basic instincts. Basic instincts, in turn, are tied to evolution. This mechanism has served us well for millions of years, but modern elements can redirect these feelings; modern elements such as processed meats, flavorings, narcotics, alcohol, tobacco, fashion magazines, shopping, and even commercials. Anything that we did not evolve surrounded by for millions of years has the potential to direct us in ways that evolution did not prepare us for. This does not mean that everything modern is bad. It only means we should be aware of their potential side-effects.
Many scientists prefer not to refer to basic instincts, but instead refer only to evolutionary principals. I believe it is often (though not always) easier and more practical to use basic instincts to unravel everyday life, rather than back-tracking to each individual evolutionary force from the annals of primal history. Models are here for our benefit. As the famous statistician, George Box, proclaimed (and Einstein occasionally quoted), "All models are wrong, but some are useful."
This article aims to briefly touch upon one particular aspect of the "religion model"--namely, how it deals with human feelings. A dire contrast between brain science and religion is the very basis or presumption of religion: namely, that feelings are just "there", and that's all there is to it. In a country where battles are raging, metaphorically, between evolution and religion, it could be the conflict between brain science and religion that is most irreconcilable.
Back to my favorite movie quote: "Explain it to me like I'm a ten-year-old." All feelings evolved to get us to act towards our basic instincts. Pleasure and pain are the "carrot and stick". When the promise of pleasure will not get you to eat, there is the pain of hunger. When the promise of comfort will not keep you dressed for the winter, there is the pain of cold. When the promise of intimacy and companionship will not get you to socialize, there is the pain of loneliness. Some of the pleasures and pains get decidedly more difficult to define as we catalogue the wide array of complex human interactions. Religion, occasionally, is very simple.
The motivational elements of the big monotheistic religions involve the promise of heaven and the threat of hell (or other punishment). These represent a fairly clear carrot and stick. If you are good you will go to paradise. If you are bad you will be killed or damned. If you believe you will be saved. If you disbelieve you will burn, suffer, or die. Many of us were taught these principals from such a young age that we may have forgotten, as adults, to go back and review them. Here are some quotes from the various scriptures of the big monotheistic religions to allow us to perhaps see their messages in a new light.
"Whosoever doeth work on the Sabbath, he shall surely be put to death" (Exodus 31:15).
"The Lord thy God is a jealous God, lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 6:15).
"Those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither and slay them before me" (Luke 19:27).
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction" (Second Thessalonians 1:8-9).
"Those who disbelieve...will be fuel for Fire" (The Family of Imran 3:10).
In case the message was not clear, the Quran mentions the word "doom" on 221 occasions--typically in relation to non-believers. You can read about a heavy doom, a painful doom, an awful doom, terrific doom, and there's even a special double doom: "For those who disbelieve and debar from the way of Allah, we add doom to doom" (The Bee 16:88).
In the Old Testament, priests have their own special threat in the event they do not teach religion correctly: "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, behold, I will corrupt your sperm, and spread excrement upon your faces" (Malachi 2:1-4).
These passages illustrate some of the threats found in the various scriptures. So much for the stick. What about the carrot? What promises of heaven and pleasure are made?
"Verily, for the righteous, there will be a paradise; gardens and grapeyards; and young full-breasted maidens of equal age; and a full cup of wine" (The Tidings 78:31-34).
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).
"Amid gardens and watersprings, attired in silk embroidery, we shall wed them unto fair maidens with wide, lovely eyes" (Smoke 44:52-54).
"God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Revelations 21:4).
The subconscious mind uses feelings to guide our actions. Our feelings are influenced by modern trappings, and indeed religion is modern by evolutionary standards. The mental mechanisms that evolved to get us to satisfy our basic instincts are redirected, somewhat, when the concept of an afterlife is included. As a result, our actions are potentially affected, and perhaps even our beliefs.
Only recently have we understood that feelings are tied to evolutionary forces and basic instincts. In a world where most people are not educated deeply about their feelings from a young age, or perhaps at any age, we may find a great many individuals manipulated by their feelings instead of understanding them. And when satisfying basic instincts is something that happens in an afterlife, it could even become a world in which the meaning of life--as strange as it sounds--becomes death.
* In-depth analysis contained in The Third Basic Instinct.
