Delusion to die for

In The God Part of the Brain, Mathew Alper tries to make the case that spiritual consciousness is simply an evolved trait. His contention is that because we've always known that we're going to die, we've developed a sense of spirituality - along with the belief that there's life after death - as a defence mechanism against that constant dread. Apparently, without this mechanism our species might not have survived.

The book isn't the only one attempting to explain religiosity away as a function of biological development. Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie does the same thing in a different way in Faces in the Clouds by maintaining that belief in supernatural beings is the result of our tendency to project human qualities onto the world. And that we're pattern seeking animals that look for patterns even where none exist.

The theories seem reasonable. Also plausible. The problem only arises in the inferences. Alper, for instance, writes: "Perhaps such a change in our perceptions might help us to shift our priorities from the hereafter to the here and now, to deter intolerance, antipathy and war, thereby... maximising our chance of obtaining the greatest amount of happiness in life."

Perhaps. But then what can we say about a lot of people who've managed to achieve the same thing while retaining faith in the hereafter and God? Calling them deluded in their goodness is not good enough. Especially if by not shifting priorities and helping others in the process they too were able to obtain the greatest amount of happiness in life.