Neuroscientist asks: Do we long for a divine creator or do we just want our mommies?

[C C]

A new theory in The Phantom God proposes a believers sense of God’s presence stems from their love of mother
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/dec-17-o...-1.6688583

INTRO: The intense feelings that believers in religion describe as the sensation of being in the presence of — or being embraced by — God, but where do those strong intuitions come from?

A neuroscientist-turned-computational biologist lays out a provocative theory in his new book, where he argues that the connection to God that some people feel comes from the same neural circuitry behind an infant's love for their mother. 

Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald spoke with John Wathey, author of The Phantom God: What neuroscience reveals about the compulsion to believe, about the evidence for this theory.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

EXCERPT: . . . I argue the selective evolutionary pressure is for the survival of helpless human infants...

[...] What I argue is that the human brain has been shaped so that a newborn infant expects the existence of another being who is nurturing and protecting, and who will respond to cries. And this innate neural circuitry survives in the brain into adulthood, but normally lies dormant.

Yet, especially in situations where a person is in a moment of crisis or helplessness that mimics the helplessness of infancy, this circuitry can be triggered. And when it is, it gives rise to this vague sense of the existence of some amorphous primordial saviour out there somewhere... (MORE - missing details and podcast)

The Thinking Atheist: "The Phantom God" with Jack C Wathey

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NS3Re599kOM

[Syne]

There is no need for nature to select for any cognitive expectation in the inherently helpless. On the other hand, nature does select for traits that further the survival of young, in those capable in making a difference in their survival. The helpless can expect help and cry out all they like, but if nature has not selected for traits to care for them, those cries are completely pointless to their survival.

Why are African babies known for not crying, even when areas especially known for it have an overwhelming belief in God?
https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/gu...niala.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/...od-divide/

[Magical Realist]

I suggest we never fully shut off that "being loved unconditionally" circuit in our brains as we grow up. We simply strive to duplicate that experience either thru a soulmate or thru friends or thru religion. Rarely do we ever find what we are looking for. Noone will ever love us like our mothers did.

[Zinjanthropos]

There is no need for nature to select for any cognitive expectation in the inherently helpless. On the other hand, nature does select for traits that further the survival of young, in those capable in making a difference in their survival. The helpless can expect help and cry out all they like, but if nature has not selected for traits to care for them, those cries are completely pointless to their survival.

Why are African babies known for not crying, even when areas especially known for it have an overwhelming belief in God?

My thought is African babies don’t cry to avoid predation. Over the years nature has selected silent babies for survival, it’s simply an evolutionary trait, possibly aiding both mother and child.

[Syne]

If you read the linked article, it explains why African babies are know for not crying. But again, it's due to the behavior of the caregiver (who would be the one capable of appreciating dangers), not the helpless.

[Zinjanthropos]

If you read the linked article, it explains why African babies are know for not crying. But again, it's due to the behavior of the caregiver (who would be the one capable of appreciating dangers), not the helpless.

Well I did and well tbh, the reason why African babies actually have a penchant for not crying being the result of African mothers having the propensity to offer the teat to a child at a higher rate than other women in the world seemed so simple that I thought there was more to it. Nothing to do with babies at all. I misinterpreted. Now if the woman with the crying kid who always seems to sit behind me on a plane read this then she might take the hint.