the god hypothesis
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
1/50
The God HypothesisPhilosophy and Science
BRENT SILBY
Unlimited (UPT)
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
2/50
The God Hypothesis
Ancient Romans thought the Christians were atheists
Why?
Christians had a god, of sorts. But it wasnt a real god.
Its easy to call anyone who believes in a different god an atheist
This view is still true today. Anyone who doesnt believe in the god
I believe in is an atheist, because mine is the only real god.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
3/50
We have seen that religion is not science because its claims
and theories are not open to falsifiability.
But what about the scientific question: does God exist?
This is a question that can be asked by science.
I might suggest that God exists based on evidence in the world
e.g. our existence. A super natural God is the only way to explain
complex living forms such as us.
Is this falsifiable?
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
4/50
Yes, Charles Darwin offered
an alternative explanation
for life complex life on
Earth.
The God as creator of
complex life theory is
falsifiable.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
5/50
Similarly, God as creator of the universe is falsifiable through theories in particle physics.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
6/50
Remember, religious theories do not recognize these as possible
means of falsification. But as far as science goes, the God theoryfor life on earth and origin of the universe is falsifiable.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
7/50
But can we falsify the theory that God exists?
How?
We can weaken the theory by finding an explanation for where theidea of God came from.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
8/50
Where did the idea of gods come from?
One explanation:
The gods and religion evolved as proto-science
Early humans needed a way to explain the natural world
3 possible ways to explain events
1. Physical
2. Design
3. Belief / Desire
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
9/50
Physical stance
Use the laws of physics to understand the phenomenon.
e.g. How an alarm clock works.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
10/50
Design stance
Look at the purpose or design of the system to understand how it
works. e.g. the alarm clock rings because it was designedto do so.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
11/50
Belief / Desire
Explain in terms of beliefs and desires. The alarm clock rings
because it believes it is 6am, and it wants to ring at the set time.
This will really scare
The bejebus out of him
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
12/50
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
13/50
Its not fair, the games cheating
We cant help ourselves. Itseems natural to ascribe
beliefs, desires, and intentions
to non-living things.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
14/50
Using belief/desire reasoning is sometimes known as folk
psychology. It is also known as the Intentional Stance
Consider the following scenario:
Mary gets a text from a friend who is arriving in town at 4pm.
She needs to be picked up from the airport.
Can we predict what Mary will do?
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
15/50
If we wanted to use the physical stance to predict Marys behavior
we would need complete knowledge of physics and current state
of the universe.
We cannot use design stance, because we do not have full
knowledge of what Marys brain subsystems have beendesigned by natural selection to do.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
16/50
As systems increase in complexity we need to use higher levels
of predictive strategy.
So, to predict Marys behavior we use the Intentional Strategy.
We look at Marys intentions, or her beliefs and desires.
1. Mary believes that her friend will arrive and 4pm2. She believes that it takes 15 minutes to get to the airport
3. She wants to pick up her friend
Armed with this knowledge, we can make a pretty goodprediction of Marys behavior.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
17/50
Ancient people used the simplest way to understand natural
phenomena. They applied belief/desire psychology to natural
systems.
People are experts at using belief/desire psychology. We all
use it everyday to understand each other.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
18/50
Ancient people applied personalities to aspects of nature. If a volcano
exploded, it was because the volcano was angry. They reasoned that it might
want the same things as people, so they offered it food, gold, and sometimes
young women or slaves as human sacrifices.
Sacrifice was a significant part of ancient Aztec culture
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
19/50
The God Hypothesis
Ancient people applied personalities to everything. Over time,
this concept evolved. Rather than the object (tree or volcano)
having a personality, it had a spirit, which was attached to it.
A similar process took place within all cultures. It was a simple
solution to the problem of explaining the world.
The problem is that most of the time it didnt work.
gods are mysterious
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
20/50
The origin of this might not have been a conscious choice.
It is possible that humans evolved agent detection mechanisms.
These mechanisms can be tricked
You are sitting alone in the house and without warning, the
door slowly opens.
Your agent detection mechanisms switch on and give you
the false impression that someone is there
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
21/50
Its no surprise that ancient
people falsely concluded thatghosts exist.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
22/50
Question: is it plausible to suggest that the Judeo/Christian
religion evolved from these simple beginnings?
But isnt there evidence for the existence of God? The bible
makes clear statements about God and provides evidencethrough the life of Jesus Christ.
But God is more complex than simple tree spirits. Surely
this give us more reason to think God exists?
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
23/50
The gods of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans etc all evolved
from these simple beginnings.
Mythologies between these cultures had similar characteristics.Most of these emerged within the Egyptian belief system.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
24/50
An example: Jesus on Earth
Like the biblical Jesus, Osiris
symbolizes the divine in a
mortal form combining both spirit
(Nut) and matter (Geb).
According to the Ancient
Egyptian traditions, Osiris came
to earth for the benefit ofmankind, bearing the title of
Manifester of Good and Truth,
much like the biblical Jesus.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
25/50
Isiss conception of Horus by no
living man is the oldest
documented version of immaculate
conception. The supernatural
conception and the virgin birth of
Horus found its way into Christianity.
Isiss role in the original Egyptian
Story and the story of
the Virgin Mary are strikingly
similar, for both were able to
conceive without male
impregnation, and, as such, Isis
was revered as the Virgin Mother.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
26/50
The Christian myths were first related of Horus or Osiris, who was the embodiment of
divine goodness, wisdom, truth and purity Gerald Massey, The Natural Genesis
According to Massey, Jesus birthdate was selected as Dec 25th because that was the
birthdate of Horus.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
27/50
The virgin Isis and her son Horus
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
28/50
Consider these other ancient stories of miraculous births
1. Alcmene, the mother of Alcides was a virgin
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
29/50
2. The mother of Apollonius was overshadowed by the supreme
god Proteus
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
30/50
3. The mother of Bacchus was a virgin
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
31/50
4. Buddha was immaculately conceived
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
32/50
5. When the young god Chang-ti was born, angels and
shepherds attended the birth
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
33/50
6. The prophet Bala predicted a divine savior that would be born
of Kunti, a virgin from the Devaci line, to relieve humanity of its
sin.
7 Th d Citl lt d b d t th i i
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
34/50
7. The god Citlaltonac send an ambassador to see the virgin
Chimalma. The god told her she would conceive a son, which
she did soon after
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
35/50
8. The mother of Ghengis Khan claimed he was the son of the sun
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
36/50
9. Hercules was born from the virgin Prudence
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
37/50
10. Hesus was born of the virgin Mayence
11. Eschylus of the Huns was a virgin and her son was the son of
God
12 Josa was a virgin who should bear a son and a star would
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
38/50
12. Josa was a virgin who should bear a son, and a star would
appear blazing at midday to signal the occurrence. Follow the
star and adore the mysterious child, offering him gifts. He is
your lord and everlasting king
13. Julius, son of virgin Cronis Celestin was begotten by the
father of all gods.
14. Plato was begotten of Apollo, not his father Ariston
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
39/50
15. Mother of Pythagoras was impregnated by the god Apollo
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
40/50
16. Chimalman, mother of Quezalcoatle was a virgin. This myth
also includes a crucifixion and resurrection after three days.
17. Celestine, mother of Zunis was a virgin. Zunis was crucified.
Ki A th
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
41/50
King Arthur
Perhaps based partly on the legend of Jesus Christ
Arthur- Savior for his people, brought peace
- Betrayal by Sir Lancelot (Judas)
- Knights of the round table, analogous to Jesus
disciples
C ti Al l k f t f l if th
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
42/50
Caution: Always look for ways to falsify a theory
Lets take another look at Horus
Massey claimed that 25th Dec as Jesus birth was selected because
Horus was born on Dec 25th.
BUT, the New Testament does not refer to the date of Jesus birth.
This date appeared in the 3rd century.
The date was result of assumption that Jesus was conceived on
March 25th (during spring equinox) and was born 9 months
later.
C ti Al l k f t f l if th
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
43/50
Caution: Always look for ways to falsify a theory
Watch clip from 2:03
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
44/50
Origin of hours is Greek hora = unit of time
BUT, No mention of symbolic star in Horus mythology
He did not have 12 disciples, he had 4
Horus was not born on Dec 25th he was born in August
Origin of horizon is Greek horos = boundary, divide
Horus meant Falcon, or distant one incorporated into Greek as
Horos so there is plausibility that this is the origin of the words
mentioned in clip
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
45/50
Religions evolved from simple beginnings. They borrow from
each other (though sometimes the extent of borrowing is
exaggerated)
When you analyze any religion, you find similarity with other
religions. This is because they all share a common ancestor.
Christianitys belief system borrowed from many older religions.
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
46/50
So heres the argument:
1. We have an explanation for where the idea of God came from2. This explanation describes God as a product of cultural
evolution
3. Therefore: God does not exist
Is this valid?
What else is needed to make this a better argument?
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
47/50
A second attempt:
1. We have an explanation for where the idea of God came from2. This explanation describes God as a product of cultural
evolution
3. There is no independently verifiable evidence for the existence
of God
4. Therefore: Probably, God does not exist
Is this better?
A complete argument:
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
48/50
p g
1. We have an explanation for where the idea of God came from
2. This explanation describes God as a product of cultural
evolution3. There is no independently verifiable evidence for the existence
of God
4. Therefore: Probably, God does not exist
5. Both religion and science offer explanations for natural
phenomena
6. Scientific theories are based on evidence that is
independently verifiable
7. Therefore: Compared to religion, science offers more
reasonable explanations for natural phenomena
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
49/50
Free discussion
-
8/8/2019 The God Hypothesis
50/50
Powerpoint by BRENT SILBY
Produced at UPTChristchurch, New Zealand
www.unlimited.school.nz
http://www.unlimited.school.nz/http://www.unlimited.school.nz/