"Darwin's God" : Pigeon Feathers and Faith

On March 4, 2007, the New York Times Magazine ran an extraordinary article written by Robin Marantz Henig entitled "Darwin's God" and "Why Do We Believe?" Ms. Henig is a graduate of Northwestern and Cornell and has published many science articles dealing with topics of interest to those who have a theological or philosophical interest in the current faith and reason controversy . This excellent essay is about recent scientific studies into whether our brains are hard-wired by human cognition to believe in the supernatural and whether this was an adaptive and evolutionary condition to benefit humanity over time. This extensive and well-written essay should be read by anyone interested in the current faith and reason conversations or those studying the science versus religion debates. As expected, it has caused a back-lash among scientific atheists such as Hawkins, "The God Delusion" and others.

In Henig's article she makes clear that scientists are not trying to show that God exists, but simply why the belief in God and religion have remained such a permanent fixture in our consciousness psychologically. We know that the "fear and flight "response was necessary to the survival of civilizations, but if belief in God is irrational as some claim (for example Hawkins and Harris "The End of Faith") or just a delusion, than what purpose would that serve? Fearing the unreal, fleeing an unfounded figment of the imagination would not make much sense for evolutionary adaptation and further confounds logic.

Further into the article, she explains that there might be an emotional component as to why we believe in things that may or may not be true. Why do humans consistently and uniformly turn to that which may be greater than themselves, usually weird enough to stick in the mind, but not so outlandish as to be unreasonable? Solace, comfort and freedom from fear of death are some possibilities and she cites John Updike's short story entitled "Pigeon Feathers" as an example. In the story, David, a 14-year-old boy discovers in the feathers of dead birds, "designs executed, it seemed, in a controlled rapture" (Henig, pg 62). This brought the young boy to an understanding that "God who had lavished such craft upon these worthless birds would not destroy His whole Creation by refusing to let David live forever."

Emotions such as these may be hard-wired into the brain in order to benefit "survival of the fittest" and are but one example scientists have given for how belief in God has remained steadfast in our minds and hearts down through the ages. But then, how can even those with little or no emotional radar, such as people with autism or otherwise similarly disabled, still have an understanding of God?

First, our brains may be "primed" to believe in something until shown otherwise. Henig gives us the example of someone running from a rock while thinking it was a bear. It does not matter at the time what it really was since it is better to be safe than sorry. The mind puts into place a warning signal until all the facts are later known.

Second, we look for answers as to why things happen and startegize within our minds logical explanations for occurrences when in reality there may be none. We look for moral value and meaning even in the face of accidents and life-threatening traumatic events.

Third, we grow up in cultures that teach us specifics about how the world operates which helps give meaning to otherwise meaningless, weird or miraculous events. Of course, our culture is vastly different than other world cultures and explains the vast diversity one sees among religious beliefs world-wide. Henig also covers secondary beliefs which have no obvious relevance to real world objects and are simply in place to support or explain what is known. She uses the example of the empty space beneath a staircase which may or may not contain a useful purpose, such as a closet. Metaphysicians, mathematicians, cosmologists and those who work in physics might utilize similar forms of belief systems since the real may be too distant or obscure to properly explain in the immediate concrete or physical world.

Society's confirmation of long-held religious beliefs as well as the power and intensity with which we accept and adapt these beliefs into action may also be factors in how cultures have survived communally. Henig refers to this as "folkpsychology" where "religion made people feel better and more willing to take care of themselves" and others (Henig, pg 62). It also gave people a place to go and people to question for answers that may not be self-evidenced.

It is unfortunate that the New York Times Magazine editors split the piece up between several distracting pages, but the work as a whole summarizes in excellent detail the work scientists, both religious and non-religious, are doing to contribute to our understanding of belief in God. This so-called "Ethics of Belief" debate is the stepping-stone for philosophers and theologians to then logically and plausibly try to explain God's existence as more than a mere mental or psychological state. Perhaps what we accept and believe is true, even to the point of influencing our actions and emotions, is true in actuality.

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