richard_dawkins_-_the_god_delusion
THE ROOTS OF RELIGION 165themselves to a lifetime of celibacy or to lonely silence, all in theservice of religion. What is it all for? What is the benefit of religion?By 'benefit', the Darwinian normally means some enhancementto the survival of the individual's genes. What is missing from thisis the important point that Darwinian benefit is not restricted tothe genes of the individual organism. There are three possible alternativetargets of benefit. One arises from the theory of groupselection, and I'll come to that. The second follows from the theorythat I advocated in The Extended Phenotype: the individual you arewatching may be working under the manipulative influence ofgenes in another individual, perhaps a parasite. Dan Dennettreminds us that the common cold is universal to all human peoplesin much the same way as religion is, yet we would not want tosuggest that colds benefit us. Plenty of examples are known ofanimals manipulated into behaving in such a way as to benefit thetransmission of a parasite to its next host. I encapsulated the pointin my 'central theorem of the extended phenotype': 'An animal'sbehaviour tends to maximize the survival of the genes "for" thatbehaviour, whether or not those genes happen to be in the body ofthe particular animal performing it.'Third, the 'central theorem' may substitute for 'genes' the moregeneral term 'replicators'. The fact that religion is ubiquitous probablymeans that it has worked to the benefit of something, but itmay not be us or our genes. It may be to the benefit of only thereligious ideas themselves, to the extent that they behave in a somewhatgene-like way, as replicators. I shall deal with this below,under the heading 'Tread softly, because you tread on my memes'.Meanwhile, I press on with more traditional interpretations ofDarwinism, in which 'benefit' is assumed to mean benefit toindividual survival and reproduction.Hunter-gatherer peoples such as Australian aboriginal tribespresumably live in something like the way our distant ancestors did.The New Zealand/Australian philosopher of science Kim Sterelnypoints up a dramatic contrast in their lives. On the one handaboriginals are superb survivors under conditions that test theirpractical skills to the uttermost. But, Sterelny goes on, intelligent asour species might be, we are perversely intelligent. The very samepeoples who are so savvy about the natural world and how to
166 T H E C, () D I) E L U S I O Nsurvive in it simultaneously clutter their minds with beliefs that arepalpably false and for which the word 'useless' is a generous understatement.Sterelny himself is familiar with aboriginal peoples ofPapua New Guinea. They survive under arduous conditions wherefood is hard to come by, by dint of 'a legendarily accurate understandingof their biological environment. But they combine thisunderstanding with deep and destructive obsessions about femalemenstrual pollution and about witchcraft. Many of the localcultures are tormented by fears of witchcraft and magic, and by theviolence that accompanies those fears.' Sterelny challenges us toexplain 'how we can be simultaneously so smart and so dumb'. 76Though the details differ across the world, no known culturelacks some version of the time-consuming, wealth-consuming,hostility-provoking rituals, the anti-factual, counter-productivefantasies of religion. Some educated individuals may haveabandoned religion, but all were brought up in a religious culturefrom which they usually had to make a conscious decision todepart. The old Northern Ireland joke, 'Yes, but are you aProtestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?', is spiked with bitter truth.Religious behaviour can be called a human universal in the sameway as heterosexual behaviour can. Both generalizations allowindividual exceptions, but all those exceptions understand only toowell the rule from which they have departed. Universal features ofa species demand a Darwinian explanation.Obviously, there is no difficulty in explaining the Darwinianadvantage of sexual behaviour. It is about making babies, even onthose occasions where contraception or homosexuality seems tobelie it. But what about religious behaviour? Why do humans fast,kneel, genuflect, self-flagellate, nod maniacally towards a wall,crusade, or otherwise indulge in costly practices that can consumelife and, in extreme cases, terminate it?DIRECT ADVANTAGES OF RELIGIONThere is a little evidence that religious belief protects people fromstress-related diseases. The evidence is not strong, but it would not
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166 T H E C, () D I) E L U S I O N
survive in it simultaneously clutter their minds with beliefs that are
palpably false and for which the word 'useless' is a generous understatement.
Sterelny himself is familiar with aboriginal peoples of
Papua New Guinea. They survive under arduous conditions where
food is hard to come by, by dint of 'a legendarily accurate understanding
of their biological environment. But they combine this
understanding with deep and destructive obsessions about female
menstrual pollution and about witchcraft. Many of the local
cultures are tormented by fears of witchcraft and magic, and by the
violence that accompanies those fears.' Sterelny challenges us to
explain 'how we can be simultaneously so smart and so dumb'. 76
Though the details differ across the world, no known culture
lacks some version of the time-consuming, wealth-consuming,
hostility-provoking rituals, the anti-factual, counter-productive
fantasies of religion. Some educated individuals may have
abandoned religion, but all were brought up in a religious culture
from which they usually had to make a conscious decision to
depart. The old Northern Ireland joke, 'Yes, but are you a
Protestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?', is spiked with bitter truth.
Religious behaviour can be called a human universal in the same
way as heterosexual behaviour can. Both generalizations allow
individual exceptions, but all those exceptions understand only too
well the rule from which they have departed. Universal features of
a species demand a Darwinian explanation.
Obviously, there is no difficulty in explaining the Darwinian
advantage of sexual behaviour. It is about making babies, even on
those occasions where contraception or homosexuality seems to
belie it. But what about religious behaviour? Why do humans fast,
kneel, genuflect, self-flagellate, nod maniacally towards a wall,
crusade, or otherwise indulge in costly practices that can consume
life and, in extreme cases, terminate it?
DIRECT ADVANTAGES OF RELIGION
There is a little evidence that religious belief protects people from
stress-related diseases. The evidence is not strong, but it would not
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