it would be a behavioral adaptation

fair enough eric.......but look at any animal........what they thrive for (an ideal) & the repeating (sorry should be better word).....actions they do....

I don't know if you could even say that animals "thrive"

a lot of what drives animals to do what they do is instinct

butterflies go to S. America........is it instinct, or religion?

just like we can't control vitamin D forming in our skin, we can't control patterns forming in our brains

instinct

why?

its like salmon spawning season

whats the difference?

I mean I love my dog, but my dog only loves me in so far as I can provide it food and shelter. That's instinct

religion requires the ability to abstract

There is a fat at the end of the river which the salmon cannot exlain, only that he knows he must go there

yeah thats instinct

you may not understand chuch but you know you should show up on sundays?

*god

Religion would be if the salmon actually had an inner monologue where it said that the end of the river is the path to righteousness

there is no evidence one way or the other

well we cant study thought

or consciousness

I think religion is that compelling...

You only need evidence to prove positive claims, not to disprove them

biological.....concesious............its the same thing

I think the desire to believe in something greater is ingrained in humanity. Thats why Nietzsche said that with the death of god, humanity needs to find it's own purpose

*instict

consciousness is not the same as instinct

I belive its ingrained in humans because the birds believe in the rain god....

what makes you think the birds believe in the rain god?

but how do you know the birds believe in a rain god

perhaps is the god of harvest?

i dont know it

again

rain = worms = food

where does god come into that

maybe birds just believe in rain

lol

again, are birds even capable of believing

sorry, trying to flesh this out for myself

how can we prove that birds know the rain is what causes the worms to rise?

...thanks for being cool through the process >.<

maybe they just take advantage of the situation