Two Kinds of Minds

Humans have a great desire to find answers for anything that happens in their environment.  The urge to explain the sometimes unexplainable seems to have been a very successful drive in our evolution of culture. The prediction of future events is also very strong. Predicting tides by the position of the moon as well as the seasons by the shadow of the sun, lead to astrology. The majority of the population had to be very impressed by the few people who did notice the connection. An elite developed which started to explain everything. Two “kinds” of minds developed. One kind would attempt to explain all things by inventing a cause for every thing happening in the environment, mostly made up stories by story tellers who wanted to give the impression of superior knowledge, but there were always some skeptics who did not believe in the made up explanations. But since the human urge is so great in most people, to feel more secure by having a cause for everything happening around them and being told that they could influence the happenings by certain rituals, such as offerings, they rather ignored the skeptic(s) and even despised and persecuted these naysayers.

We see that “hate” to day towards Atheists because they “undermine” the security that humans so desperately want to feel to be able to cope with the world they live in. Read some of the comments in forums discussing atheism. The words, stupid, morons, immoral, brainless, crazy and many other insults are rampant in these “discussions”, showing how threatened the average believer feels if there beliefs are questioned. Rational discussion is the first thing that goes out of the window.

A Skeptic will say, I have not yet an explanation for some things, I’ll try to find out, However, many people want to have answers, a golden opportunity for some to become leaders by providing explanations, and the promise that by following rituals, such as praying and/or paying (offerings) you can influence the situation you find yourself in.

Now I ask you, would you rather admit that you don’t know yet, but pursue by the scientific method to find out facts or accept someone’s fantasy to feel more secure to be able to deal with the unpredictability of life.

It becomes clear to me that we have two kinds of minds, the skeptic and the believer and that these are hardwired in the brain. Although environment plays a large role in the development of the mind, I believe that we all are born with a range between belief and skepticism. That the extreme “ranges” cannot possibly be “converted’, which explains why some people brought up religious become Atheist and vice versa, while the middle group is more apt to be influenced by education and the culture they grew up in.

I really would like your comments and hope you share this.