I took this picture of a group of people on a beach a few minutes from my home. I'm not posting the picture to be critical of them ... because I have no idea what they are doing. The scene made me wonder, in general terms, about the role of "believing" in the development of human culture.
Our human nature is such that we are quick, maybe even desperate, to believe in things that are sometimes truly unbelievable. But it seems to me that this is not an evolutionary flaw - merely a trait that can work for or against us that must have had real selective advantages for our ancestors because it is still with us today.
Shared common beliefs allow large groups of people to collaborate on big projects like building functional communities. A central component of our modern global economy is our collective willingness to believe in the concept of money. You have two chickens and you are willing to give them to me in exchange for a few pieces of colorful paper with pictures and numbers drawn on them. This kind of transaction has not always been a workable idea in human societies.
But shared common beliefs can also be used as a tool to get otherwise good people to do terrible things. How do we distinguish between what makes sense to believe in and what doesn't? It is a question that leads to a clash between advocates of critical thinking and those people inclined to simply take a leap of faith because it "feels right". A clash that too often turns violent.
The debate will only end when there are no people left to argue about it.
And so it goes.
Monte