Transcript Van Internet tot Wereldbrein

Introduction to the
Workshop:
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Meaning and
Religiosity
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Complexity and
Confusion
The world seems to change ever more rapidly
Old certainties are cast into doubt
Religions have lost much of their authority
But people are equally critical about science:
– its observations seem to change all the time
– it does’nt give any guidance on what we should do
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Importance of a
Worldview
• People with a clear worldview are happier
– Mostly (theist) believers
– Also atheist humanists
• People who don’t know what to believe are
more cynical, pessimistic, distrustful
• Worldviews give guidance, meaning,
structure to your life
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Religiosity
• We don’t just need a worldview
– rational, explanatory system
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• But a good feeling about the world
– A sense of belonging to a larger whole
• Nature, Society, the Universe…
– A sense of meaning or purpose for our actions
– A sense of awe or wonder about the universe
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Non-theist religiosity
• Such feelings may be called “religiosity” or
“spirituality”
– “religio” = that what binds together
• But they do not imply a traditional religion
• No need to postulate the existence of God(s)
– to explain life or the universe
– to feel a sense of meaning, wonder or belonging
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Non-theist religiosity
• Therefore, we wish to examine the problems of
meaning, religiosity and worldviews
– without a priori assumptions about God(s)
• As also proposed e.g. in
– Leo Apostel’s “atheist religiosity”
– (Zen) Buddhism
– Taoism
–…
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Animism, Evolution, and
the Meaning of Life:
how God helped to alienate us
from our true nature
Francis Heylighen
(ECCO, Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
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The meaning of life
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What are we living for?
Why are we here?
What is the ultimate purpose?
For most people this is a
great mystery
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– To be solved by philosophical reflection
– Or found in religious teachings
– Or discovered in mystical experiences
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Hunter-Gatherers
• Our original, paleolithic
ancestors
• Evolved over millions of years
• Perfectly adapted to their
way of life
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Hunter-Gatherer Life
• For hunter-gatherers, life is
intrinsically meaningful
– To live, to love, to eat, to hunt, to
gather, to explore, to learn, to play,
to care for children, to enjoy
company…
• People are part of nature
– No separation
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Animism
• The hunter-gatherer worldview is animistic
• The world is peopled by “animate” things
• Humans, animals, but also trees, rocks, rivers…
– With their own desires and feelings
– Sometimes allies, sometimes enemies
– But never wholly indifferent
• Life is interaction with this community of
agents
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Mythology
• Stories are told about agents
– Real or imaginary
– People, animals, spirits, “gods” as personalized forces
– experiencing dramatic, funny or mysterious adventures
• But no agents are in control
– Even the “god” who created the world gets in trouble
– And is made fun of
• Myths dramatize real life with its challenges
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Animist Religion?
• Animism is not theist religion
– “Gods” have no divine powers
– No absolute rules to obey
– No far-away purpose (Heaven and Hell)
– Myths vary according to the story telling
– Attitude is playful, humorous
• Animism is an experience, not a faith or belief
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Animism is natural
• The world is a network of interacting agents
– Without any absolute laws or authorities
– Largely unpredictable
– But sufficiently controllable to survive and thrive
• The “intentional stance” is efficient
– Assuming that complex phenomena have
intentions helps you to anticipate their
(re)actions
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The Agricultural
Revolution
• About 10 000 years ago H-Gs became farmers
– As populations increased, there was not enough
“wild” food anymore
– => gradually more reliance on “cultivated” food
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Planning and Discipline
• Cultivation requires long-term planning
• And sticking to the plan
– Plant now, to harvest
in several months
– Keep seeds
– Let animals grow,
to kill when they
are full-grown
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Discipline is not natural
• Instincts tell us to eat food when hungry
• The mind is not made for long-term planning
– Cognitively very demanding
– Natural phenomena are largely unpredictable
• Weather, appearance of food or animals…
• Yet, planning and discipline are necessary for
farmers to survive
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Obeying Rules
• Discipline is initially stressful
• Because spontaneous, instinctive reactions need to
be suppressed
– Requires constant monitoring and reinforcement
• Interiorization of rules
– “Indoctrination”
– Rules should become unquestioned
automatisms
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Imposing Rules
• Social pressure
– Conformity, mutual monitoring
•
Cognitive scaffolds
– Conscience = Interiorized
social pressure
– Promise of rewards
– Threat of punishment
– Explicit “commandments”
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The Birth of Gods
• Gods represent social pressures
• Gods have the power to punish/reward
• Gods offer (very) long-term prospects
– Eternal life
– “Meaning of (agricultural) life”
• Gods formulate rules
• The Ten Commandments
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Monotheism
• Polytheistic gods are more powerful versions
of animist “spirits”
• As civilisation evolves, gods become more
powerful but smaller in number
• Eventually, one becomes Supreme
– Zeus, Jupiter…
• Finally, the others lose their “god” status and
become mere helpers of the one God
– Angels, saints, …
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Newtonian Science
• All-powerful and omniscient God =>
• Has designed a perfect universe
– Obeying unchanging laws
• These laws can be understood mathematically
• They determine everything that happens
– But what then is the final “purpose”?
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Industrial Society
• Increasingly abstract, complex activities
– require strict discipline and planning
– Rules are increasingly non-intuitive
– Removed from feeling and life
• => Alienation:
– People no longer feel
connected to their
environment and work
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Search for Meaning
• Old ideas of divine purpose have eroded
– No purpose in a Newtonian universe
– God can no longer reward or punish
– No longer belief in afterlife
• But the theist reasoning remains
– Meaning and purpose are to be sought outside
of our day-to-day experience
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The Solution
• Give up metaphysical illusions
– No transcendent truth, meaning or purpose
– No God or deterministic Laws of Nature
• Recover our “animist” intuitions
– Meaning is in interaction with our environment
– Living life to the fullest
– With an eye on long-term evolution/development
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Practical approach
• Formulate an evolutionary philosophy
– That theoretically explains the “meaning of life”
– An integrated, holistic worldview
– Based on (inter)action
• Adopt a more “paleo” lifestyle
– Eat, live, play and work more like
our hunter-gatherer ancestors
– While relying on modern technology
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Recovering Happiness
• Stress, depression and alienation
– Caused by “industrial” habits
• Discipline, sense of duty, constant work, time
pressure, processed food, competition…
– Reinforced by absence of “Paleo” elements:
• Nature, exercise, play, rest, friendship, sunlight,
natural food…
• Technology now allows us to live in a more
relaxed, natural manner
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Conclusion
• The search for a far-away “meaning of life” is an artefact
of agricultural/industrial civilization
• For Hunter-Gatherers, life is intrinsically meaningful
• To recover their sense of well-being, meaning and
belonging, we need to:
– Live a more relaxed, “natural” life
– Give up on unreachable, metaphysical illusions
– Develop an evolutionary, modern “animist” worldview
– Where everything again fits together
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