Counter Intuitive Beliefs in an Evolutionary Context

8/4/2019 Counter Intuitive Beliefs in an Evolutionary Context

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Presentation at the IAPR Congress

Bari 2011

By

Dr George Varvatsoulias CPsychol CSci

BA, BSc, MTh, MA, PhD



Evolutionary Psychology ofReligion (1)

The semantic role of evolution and religion for theinterpretation of human mind and behaviour inpsychological terms

It is the new scientific paradigm, which lays weighton both evolution and religion. Religion is notsubjected to evolution as an issue of culturalimportance, but as a cognitive perspective, whichhas helped the course of evolution in individual

and societal terms



Evolutionary Psychology ofReligion (2)

The religious phenomenon is not onlyregarded as a manifestation of humancognitive abilities, but as a contributorto the course of evolution viainvestigating the aforesaid in terms ofthe religious development of humanspecies

Religion is the subject-matter of thisnew paradigm, the scope of which is toidentify perspectives of religiouspsychological importance that areapplicable to the course of human

evolution



The meaning of counter-intuition

Counter-intuition is the birth-child of

human inquiring mind; counter-intuition is the counter-rational pathway to the

interpretation of the inexplicable

Counter-intuition depends on: The violation of common-sense

expectations which defy logical orformal sequence of thinking

Beliefs in ideas and principles which donot rely on cogent evidence

Explanations to the natural world viainferences of complex representations



Evolutionary issues ofcounter-intuition

Counter-intuition approachescomplex evolutionary issues, suchas life and death, which setcognitive, emotional, and material

conditions for ordinary humaninteractions

Counter-intuition refers to naturallyselected objects, and/or

phenomena which if animated canmeta-represent adaptivelyselected issues in a meta-cognitiveway in order to answer questions

associated to the need for survival



Commitment to the importanceof counterintuitive notions

1. Believers recall and transmit

information to future generations: e.g.the story of Jesus

2. Believers adhere to particular belief

systems even if such systemscontradict to social values: e.g. veil ban

3. Believers generate narratives ofreligious events and principles, so the

faith system to become moreunderstandable to the public: e.g.sermons and talks at congregations

4. Believers look for individuals able tolead them spiritually: e.g. ordination,

priesthood



Counterintuitive concepts

These are concepts where logic is unable to provide a certain reasoning to explaining

them

God as Trinity Incarnation

Afterlife

Salvation...however, the mind employs algorithms

pertaining to spirituality where concepts such as the above to be counter-intuitively

approached



Massive Counterintuition

Religion: A system incorporating personal,interpersonal, behavioural, social, and in-group issues of belonging and identity

Morality: The unwritten law . Mores andvalues of a particular religious affiliationwith considerable impact to a society.Accepting principles of collective

consciousness

Ethics: Incorporating and applyingreligious mores to a country’s legislative

system



Minimally counterintuitiveideas

Religious beliefs: Cognitive ideas aimed at agencydetection: God is the Creator of the world

Religious rituals: Employing special sorts ofenvironmental stimuli to identify the existence of

invisible entities Religious artifacts: The use of religious material so the

faithful to feel connected to God. These are especiallycommissioned from people of the Church andadministered to congregations for an interlinkingrelationship between the created and the Creator



Adaptedness of

counterintuitive concepts The origin of counter-intuition lies with the

human mind, so what has been selected forto solve adaptive problems relates to

applicability of ideas able to contribute tosolutions

One of such cluster of ideas is counter-intuition – in terms of suggesting answers to

questions remaining unanswered We could assume that counterintuitive

concepts are spandrels co-opted to provide solutions to already existing adaptive problems



The relationship of counter-intuition to survival

Evolutionary explanations to survival relate to

reproduction and fitness maximisation and vice versa

Religious beliefs have a positive impact onaffiliation to a congregation, on anindividual’s sense of belonging, on in-groupcoalitions, on meeting-up with others of thesame framework of mind

Religious beliefs promote reproductivestrategies towards fitness maximisation: thenecessity of marriage, bringing-up children,becoming a parent, enhancing parent-

offspring relationship as God himself doestowards humans



Rationale and Hypothesis of thestudy

The understanding of the survivalprinciple according to the cognitive

psychological importance ofcounterintuitive beliefs

Counterintuitive beliefs deal with

everyday adaptive problems and serve human survival needs



Method (1)

Participants: A random sampling of 100participants will take part in this study – 50 males, 50 females. Participants will

be recruited from four different parishesaround London: 25 participants fromeach parish

Design: 1X3 within-participant ANOVAdesign; DV: survival; IVs: afterlife,compassion, apathy.



Method (2)

Measures:

1. The narrative of the Sermon on the Mount(Matthew 5 & 7).

2. A self-made questionnaire composed of twelvestatements I have entitled The Social Beatitudes Inventory

Procedure: The experimenter will contact

participants via each parish priest. Participantswill be explained in a letter the purpose of thestudy and they will be asked to read first thenarrative of the Sermon on the Mount, and then

to respond to the 12-statement questionnaire



Method (3)

Items will be rated -3 to +3, a form of the Likertscale scoring system. Data collected will beput into the SPSS for final analysis and

discussion of findings (personal,interpersonal, and social implications of boththe narrative and the inventory – social, inthe sense of Christian narratives being

formed by counterintuitive beliefs whichinfluence everyday human behavior andinteraction with others. Scores for the IVsand DV items will be averaged to provide an

overall rate for each one of them)



Results (1)

Out of 100 questionnaires were returned44 from 27 males and 17 females

A 1X3 (Survival x

Afterlife*Compassion*Apathy) within-subjects factorial ANOVA was conductedon counterintuitive beliefs and human

survival needs A significant main effect was found for

afterlife F (1,43)=8.81, p <0.5 (0.3) (r =.42)



Results (2)

A significant effect was found forcompassion F (1,43)=6.58, p <0.5 (0.6)(r =.44)

A non-significant main effect was foundfor apathy F (1.43)=.86, p <0.5 (0.8)(r =.28)

Significant interaction was foundbetween afterlife*compassionF (1,43)=7.15, p <0.5 (0.51) (r =.45)



Results (3)

Non-significant interaction was foundbetween afterlife*apathy F (1.43)=.207,p <0.5 (0.9) (r =.29)

Non-significant interaction was foundbetween compassion*apathyF (1,43)=0.06, p <0.5 (0.94) (r =.27)



Discussion (1)

Significant effects and interactions werefound between IVs

The hypothesis of this study is

supported because it was found thatcounterintuitive beliefs (such as afterlifeand compassion) deal with everyday

adaptive problems (such as honesty,social balance, goodness, peace, etc.)for they serve survival needs in modernsocieties



Discussion (2)

On the other hand non-significant main effectand interactions were found for apathy

Significant interactions and main effects for

afterlife and compassion but not for apathyindicate that social members considercontinuity issues between survival needs andcounterintuitive beliefs. The opposite was

true for apathy where survival needs do notplay important role in the lives of individualswhen social interactions based oncompassion and spirituality do not satisfy the

well-being of social members



Discussion (3)

One other important finding coming from this studyrefers to the actual text of the Sermon on the Mount and how social members comprehend it:

1. The Sermon on the Mount influences beliefs

people hold for one another in given Christiansocieties

2. Most of the articles of this Sermon are accepted inmodern Christian societies as century-old

imperatives for the betterment of human social life3. Individuals in such societies follow the Sermon on

the Mount and adapt it in their personal lives as aprerequisite for culmination of their survival needs



Strengths and Limitations(1)

Strengths:

1. The importance of New Testament textsfor evolutionary psychology of religion

2. The importance of counterintuitivebeliefs based on Christian texts (Biblicaland the writings of the Fathers) for the

understanding of religion as animportant factor for human socialevolution



Strengths and Limitations(2)

Limitations:

1. In replicating the study morecounterintuitive beliefs could be

employed

2. There could be compared Biblical textsto texts of Darwinian literature in

reference to issues of adaptation,survival aspects, and aspects on fitnessmaximisation



Conclusion

Counterintuitive concepts influencehuman social life

Religious beliefs are important for the

construction of social ideals

Religious beliefs are entertained bycounterintuitive understandings of

cognitive psychological appraisals Issues, such as compassion, apathy,

and survival characterise human social

interactions



Appendix 1: The Sermon on the Mount (1)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is

the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be

comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called

sons of God.



Appendix 1: The Sermon on the Mount (2)

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile

you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?”

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (...). Whatever

you wish that men would do to you, do so to them”.



Appendix 2: The Social Beatitudes Inventory (1)

1. Those who comprehend reality in their own way, should not have place in society .

2. Those who help others must be praised .

3. One, even to be persecuted wrongly, one should not be get annoyed at .

4. Those who mourn for things that sadden

them, it isn’t good to be comforted . 5. Those who are honest, if something

happens to them, they are to blame .

6. If you put effort, but fail, you should not

ask for the help of others.



Appendix 2: The Social Beatitudes Inventory (2)

7. Those who struggle for balance in society must

not profit on most .

8. Those who try for peace by any means, but do

not succeed, should not mind us .9. What we say and discuss with others should not

care us whether our opinion matters to them .

10. Those who battle and become better, they

achieve it at the expense of others .11. Those who do good deeds, they do so in order

others to acknowledge them .

12. I do to others whatever I like, for my ultimate

goal is to lead ahead of them.



References (1)

Atran, S. (2002). In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion .Oxford: Oxford University Press

Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (1979).The Spandrels of San Marco and thePanglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the

Adaptationist Programme, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (Biological Sciences), 205 , 581-598



References (2)

Murray, M. J., & Goldberg, A. (2009).Evolutionary accounts of Religion:Explaining and explaining away. In J.

Schloss & M. Murray (Eds.), The Believing Primate. Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections (pp. 179-199).Oxford: Oxford University Press

Varvatsoulias, G. (2010). Convergentpathways between evolutionary psychologyand psychology of religion. Journal for interdisciplinary research on religion and science 7 41 63

Counter Intuitive Beliefs in an Evolutionary Context

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