A democratic organization supporting separation of state and church, and promoting understanding and acceptence of atheism and freethought in our community

A democratic organization supporting separation of state and church,understanding and acceptence of atheism 

and freethought in our community

AOF Activities & Events

Darwin's Apple                                                                                                              Hits : 779
Sunday, July 31, 2016, 01:00pm - 03:00pm
Location :  Sacramento Reason Center, 1824 Tribute Rd, Suite A, Sacramento, see map

Mitchell DiamondMitchell Diamond: Darwin's Apple, the Evolutionary Biology of Religion

Religion is a phenomenon. A deep, pervasive phenomenon that sticks to history like chewing gum to your sneakers. For 50,000 years at least, in one form or another--longer than agriculture or written language--humans have practiced it. Yet despite much modern philosophical and scientific delvings, the source and purpose of religion are a mystery. Deep at the root and wellspring of things, something is going on. Something pervasive. Something universal. But what?

Academicians can't even agree if it is an accidental byproduct (epiphenomenon) or an evolved adaptation. Candidate theories exist. But to date, all approaches to the evolutionary and biological source of religion fail to show how it is adaptive, how it could possibly increase individual fitness. At the day's end, a comprehensive cognitive theory of religion remains lacking.

Speaker Mitchell Diamond comes to AOF to dissect prevailing explanations for religion's origin, put the pieces under a microscope, and tell us why they lack legs.

A bit about this gentleman. Mitchell Diamond got his B.A. in Biology from UC Santa Cruz and has maintained a keen interest in the biology of human behavior since. Seeing how religious behaviors are universal and persistent in all human societies, and yet existing explanations are absent or deficient, he decided to dig into the origins of religion. What he found was that virtually all popular theories of religion focused on beliefs in gods and the supernatural ”not particularly amenable to scientific analysis,” rather than religious behaviors, which are more appropriate for scientific study. By examining human actions rather than subjective belief, Diamond shucked the prevailing dogma and developed a new hypothesis for the origin of religious behavior.

He is the author of Darwin's Apple: The Evolutionary Biology of Religion.

"God only exists as a creation of the human brain," writes Mitchell, "which means God is biological." Hmm.

Yet another fine event of the AOF Speaker Series. Come join us, and evolve your mind.

Contact :  See our Contact Page
For you, attendance is free. We like the cut of your jib. But if you like this talk, please think of joining AOF, and support Reason Center with a dollar or two in the donation jar. Rid yourself of filthy lucre. Be lighter.