Given: The overwhelming majority of people in the universe (that we know of) believe in some sort of higher power that gives life a purpose.
Evolution is an interesting but simple process. Organisms have genes. Successful organisms multiply and produce offspring that contain their genes (specifically alleles). These genes stay in the gene pool while the genes of the organisms who did not reproduce are eliminated from history.
CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DEVOID OF SCIENCE AND IS FIRMLY IN THE REALM OF PSEUDOSCIENCE AND/OR RETARDED ASS THOUGHTS
But we can try to explain the Given. Let’s imagine early humans and the various assortment of genes they possessed. Of course they possessed the genes that made them “human.” These genes coded for the type of hair we have, how long our toes are, and gave us the ability to see. Part of this set of genes went into developing the brain. And if the brain is the mind, these genes influenced our early ancestors’ consciousnesses.
Among this set of genes dealing with the mind has to be one for self-awareness. We are sentient beings, fully aware of our existence, while other animals don’t seem to have this luxury.
And this gene for self-awareness (though this is most likely a side effect of a variety of genes that control brain function) also gives us the ability to question our existence. Why do we exist?
The answer to this question can be binary. There is a reason or there is no reason. Let’s assume first that every early human possessed the gene (allele) that coded for “there is no reason for our existence.”
If every one of these mind genes (alleles) carried such a code, people would never have developed a purpose for life and we would not be able to reach our Given. It only takes one person with the “there is a reason” gene (allele) to pass that gene from gene pool to gene pool throughout history. But our assumption invalidates this one person from ever existing. One could make a case that a mutation arose in this gene sometime later on which caused it to switch to “there is a reason” in some random person. Let’s not concern ourselves with this just yet because we might will not need it.
Of course the same is true for the reverse situation. If everyone originally had the allele for “there is a reason,” then everyone would still feel that today. Note that the Given does not make a statement as bold as this. There are plenty of examples in today’s society that show everyone does not believe in a higher power and/or give life a purpose. Of course, this can also be resolved with the mutation argument.
But I think the far more likely case is that both alleles for the gene existed in early humans. While the Given may lead you to believe that the allele ratio of “there is a reason” to “there is no reason” is very high, this does not have to be the case. Let’s assume that there were only a few people with the “there is a reason” allele while the vast majority of humans had the “there is no reason” allele. Let’s also assume the traditional concept of dominant and recessive alleles is not so clear cut between these two alleles. How do we get to the Given?
Well, so far, we’ve only been discussing the genotype. The answer lies in the phenotype. Early humans lived in very harsh times with very high mortality rates and cases of starvation. The standard of living was incredibly poor compared to what it is now for even the poorest of classes. The “there is no reason” allele had a direct consequence on phenotype. Without any reason to live, displayers of this phenotype lost the will to live through such conditions and either gave up looking for food and shelter or committed suicide. If there was nothing at all in the end, enduring the pain of life was not worth it.
Meanwhile, those who were blessed with the “there is a reason” allele fought through these harsh conditions. Though the pain hurt them, they knew they would be rewarded for their perseverance. While the there-is-no-reasoners slowly died off, the there-is-a-reasoners gathered together and constructed larger and larger societies, each fully obedient to the idea of a higher power which governed their daily actions.
Such was the start of the domination of organized religion. It did not start through itself, it was merely a process of natural selection. Just like everything in(volving) life.
But the there-is-no-reasoners did not completely die off. As noted before, quite a few remain and they seem to be growing in number. Perhaps some people decided that certain pleasures in life were worth the pain. They quietly lived amongst the others, being patient as the standard of living became better and better and the pleasures slowly started to outweigh the pain more and more.
They waited in the shadows, as society grew more secular. Until organized religion played no part in it. Until secularization was complete. Until there was no pain, only pleasure. Until they had realized their Utopia.
In other words, their Heaven on Earth.
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