Within the depths of Richard Dawkins’s The Selfish Gene, the author discusses the existence, or at least the idea of God, as a meme, important enough to last for thousands of years and spread across three separate religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Over the course of time, religions and supernatural deities have often come hand-in-hand, a sort of universal meme. In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins defines the meme as “a noun that conveys the ida of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation,” (Dawkins 249).One prominent example of a meme is that of God. But, the question remains--why is God such a popular concept? How does it benefit society? Why does it still survive today? Although the origins of why the idea of God and other supernatural deities does not have a concrete answer, the idea serves a prominent role in providing cooperation amongst larger societies via religion, may have a biological root in the human psyche, but also can be utilized in such a way as to hurt groups of marginalized groups. The expression and spread of the idea of God has remained prevalent throughout history. In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins also ponders the reason that the concept possesses such a high survival rate, remaining popular in the thousands of years after its introduction (Dawkins 2016). Part of the ‘why’ may have to do with the comfort religion and the idea of a supernatural being has to people, especially in trying to make sense of the world. In Alper’s 1998 The ‘God’ part of the brain: A scientific interpretation of spirituality and God, Alpers seeks a potential biological explanation for why humans developed the idea of God in the first place (Alpers 1998). Citing observations from Jung to Piaget that most cultures developed a concept of spirituality, Alpers also notes that self-awareness of the mortality of the human race may have been a factor into the advent of religion and concepts of soles and higher beings (Alpers 1998). In order to alleviate anxieties over realizations of mortality and that our species was around, Alpers theorizes that natural selections may have impacted perceptions of reality to hold a spiritual bias (Alpers 1998). While such a theory is, admittedly, needing more research, tendencies towards providing answers on a spiritual basis also plays into the development of religion, where statistics do indicate that people who practice religion tend to have lower rates of depression and anxiety as a whole. Thus, Alpers’s work suggests a biological motivation for perceiving reality in a more spiritual manner, which may have led the way to developing the idea of God. Although Alpers’s idea is not substantiated by Dawkins, the idea of God may have produced a beneficial role in decreasing anxieties over mortality. However, while that may play a part in the survivability of the idea, there are
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In Dawkins’s work, the author does note that the concept allows for “superficially deep answers to deep and troubling questions about existence,” (Dawkins 2016). Thus, part of the survivability of the idea may be rooted in the concept’s ability to assuage, even momentarily, the question of ‘why people are here’. However, the concept may also have greater uses, enabling the social cohesion and cooperation in large groups, as suggested in a 2010 book by Shariff, Norenzayan, and Henrich (2010). Although the idea of God is not one that is genetically passed down, the use of higher beings and spirituality as a means to improve cooperation and cohesion may have been useful for developing …show more content…
While the ideas take many forms, one popular meme is the concept of God itself. Although the concept does lend to answering questions about existence, can promote cooperative behavior in larger social groups, and may have a biological base, there are also drawbacks to the idea as well. Often, the idea of God is used to perpetuate and promote stigma against marginalized groups, often utilizing arguments rooted in the ‘natural order of things’ to argue why sexualities other than straight are abhorrent, and plays into misogny and other issues of gender that remain social issues as well. Thus, while the concept of God plays a vital role in society and across cultures and religions today, the ultimate answer of whether or not the concept is good is far more nuanced than a simple ‘yes’ or
In Dawkins’s work, the author does note that the concept allows for “superficially deep answers to deep and troubling questions about existence,” (Dawkins 2016). Thus, part of the survivability of the idea may be rooted in the concept’s ability to assuage, even momentarily, the question of ‘why people are here’. However, the concept may also have greater uses, enabling the social cohesion and cooperation in large groups, as suggested in a 2010 book by Shariff, Norenzayan, and Henrich (2010). Although the idea of God is not one that is genetically passed down, the use of higher beings and spirituality as a means to improve cooperation and cohesion may have been useful for developing …show more content…
While the ideas take many forms, one popular meme is the concept of God itself. Although the concept does lend to answering questions about existence, can promote cooperative behavior in larger social groups, and may have a biological base, there are also drawbacks to the idea as well. Often, the idea of God is used to perpetuate and promote stigma against marginalized groups, often utilizing arguments rooted in the ‘natural order of things’ to argue why sexualities other than straight are abhorrent, and plays into misogny and other issues of gender that remain social issues as well. Thus, while the concept of God plays a vital role in society and across cultures and religions today, the ultimate answer of whether or not the concept is good is far more nuanced than a simple ‘yes’ or