Monday, April 04, 2011

Anxiety Sparks Belief

We posted on the study that correlated intelligent design with death anxiety last week. Today I am seeing an obvious fundamental idea here that I missed last week.

Thanks to Live Science.

Belief in intelligent design spurred by death anxiety would obviously take precedence over evolution simply because I.D.T. provides comfort for an ineffable overwhelming core question. In short, comfort trumps understanding.

Live Science: Fear of Death Spurs Belief in Intelligent Design
"The whole reason we have religion is that it is comforting. Intelligent design is doing something very similar...Traditional science's goal isn't to comfort; there really is no goal other than to understand."

4 comments:

Ed said...

This study sounds pretty mushy to me, but it's nice to hear terms like 'existential anxiety' being used. Existential anxiety is a pretty big deal, right? and it's rare to read about it.

Jim Sande said...

Well ya know, at some point it dawns on a few people that their existence is not permanent. When that happens a new potential for understanding seems to open. Its a mixed path with lots of wrongs turns and twists, its not an easy path, and it might have anxiety.

Glynn Kalara said...

Have your heart STOP and be revived and you'll know what anxiety is all about friends. Our consciousness and identity is at best a questionable construct beyond the physical reality we live in when all the parts are still functioning. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything comforting on this issue from my recent experience. I will say this however it got me thinking about other times when I'd been knocked unconscious by something and I also regained it usually a short time later. In none of these events was I DEAD not even the heart attack so it begs the question doesn't it? What happens to your consciousness when you knocked out? Is this like sleep where you aren't dreaming?

Jim Sande said...

Good question GK, its profound and fundamental to humanity.

I think we can be lucid when we dream. I'm not sure we can be lucid the entire time we are sleeping or during just part of it. Anytime I have had a lucid dream where I know I am dreaming, it occurred in the morning.

I have looked into this over the years. I don't put the information that I have up on this blog. Maybe I will post some things.