How Religion Hijacks Cognitive Mechanisms

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How Religion Hijacks Cognitive Mechanisms - Dr. Andy Thomson @ W&L Law School.

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Dr. J. Anderson Thomson gave his lecture "Why we believe in gods" at the Washington & Lee Law School (W&L Law) in Lexington, VA on October 15, 2008.

J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D. (Andy) is a part-time staff psychiatrist. He received his B.A. from Duke University (1970), his M.D. from the University of Virginia (1974) and did his adult psychiatry training at U.Va. (1974-77). His private practice is oriented toward individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, forensic psychiatry, and medication consultation. He is the Assistant Director of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction at U.Va., which involves interdisciplinary intervention and research in large group ethnic and political conflict. He has publications on narcissistic personality disorder, PTSD, and the psychology of racism, and psychobiographical essays on Robert E. Lee and Lee Harvey Oswald. His current research interest is in the area of evolutionary psychology. (Source: University of Virginia)

Watch the full lecture at www.richarddawkins.net/article,3373,Why-we-believe-in-gods,J-Anderson-Thomson

Credit: http://www.richarddawkins.net/
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[amasra56]

Most harmful nature of religious books, especially the Old Testament and Quran is the fact that these books are written to establish set of rules and laws to govern peoples every aspects of their lives; Codes of living, so to speak; at bronze age. It is absurd and impossible for human civilizations to fit them to our age of reason, science and civil laws.

[soulinite]

Great video. Look no further then Mormonism and $cientology for proof that religion is rooted in lies and frauds.

[tuseroni]

under desert religions he points out the 3 religions which branch off Judaism modern Judaism, islam, and christianity) but ignores the root of THOSE religions, the ancient egyptian mythology (well that and a hodge podge of others in the region, they jahwist, the deutonimists, the elehists but they are branches from the root that got reassimilated.) also it leaves some question where the other polytheistic religions which dont fit his rainforest religion prototype fit.

[JungleJargon]

@NUTCASE71733 A Maker of all natural things can be detected by way of the function that hydrogen and most of the most common elements have as essential parts working inside of us as ordered.

Function always has a maker so the function of hydrogen inside of us means that all matter consisting of hydrogen and derivatives does indeed have a very great Maker.

[NUTCASE71733]

@JungleJargon

No there isn't don't delude yourself. That evidence by definition would have to be examined by science and supernatural things cannot be tested because they are not material.

[JungleJargon]

Religion is a strawman argument. The truth is that there is observable evidence that both we and the entire universe have a very great Maker.

watch?v=qZev7hb40uk

[theclarinet1234]

Some of the most interesting studies on morality come from the study of other social animals. For example, dogs have an apparent hard wired sense of fairness. If dogs perceive other dogs being rewarded for a behavior, whereas they themselves are not, they will exhibit anxiety behaviors and eventually refuse to perform the requested behavior. That's just one example.

[scotttebben]

"Theology: The field of study and analysis of make believe; for the purpose of spinning reality to conform to the human imagination so the control of others can be achieved".

 -Scott Tebben

[HToothrot]

@kokopelli314 lol. Some science then! 

[kokopelli314]

@HToothrot If politics is the blood sport then political science is the audience.

[HToothrot]

@kokopelli314 I probably was trolling. I don't know anymore! What would you say is the difference between politics and political science? Also all be sure to look up "on equilibrium"

[kokopelli314]

@HToothrot Yeah, I was kind of wondering afterwards if you were playing around, After deconstructing my process' of deconstruction I had some inkling of what the DADAists were all about. I think John Ralston Saul has an effective post modern analysis of political science in "On Equilibrium", although some might consider political science to be an inhumanity.