How Can Smart People Be Superstitious?

[Kerryd]

Well, there are elephants, goats, and many other species which can ruin their local environment and have to move on to find greener pastures.

Not sure what that has to do with superstition, though.

But those creatures would (normally) be controlled by "natural selection" and predators, keeping their numbers down.

As for superstitions (and how they relate to animals). Think about "black cats". Superstition has it that it is unlucky if a black cat crosses your path (black cats were also the favoured companions of witches).

In fact, almost anything black is considered evil (bats, cats, ravens). How much of that is born out of superstition ? How much of those superstitions have made their way into (some) mainstream religions ?

Bats are considered "evil". Satan and his "minions" are usually depicted as having bat wings. Snakes are considered "evil". It was a snake that convinced Eve to feed the forbidden fruit to Adam.

White birds (like doves) are considered "good" (note that religious depictions generally show angels with white wings). Even "good" wizards (and "good guys") wear white.

So, how did bats come about to be considered "evil" ?

You have to go beyond religious dogma and primeval superstitions. Bats (generally) live in dark caves and come out at night. Ancient man feared the dark (and still does to an extent). Bat caves contain guano (bat droppings) can be deadly to humans"

"Bat guano is very dangerous to humans if it is touched, ingested and especially if the dust from dried bat guano is inhaled. Inhaling dried bat guano spores can lead to a deadly disease called Histoplasmosis."

Ancient man would seek out caves as natural shelters. However, if those caves had been home to large colonies of bats, their droppings would be deadly to those ancients. Couple dark, scary caves, scores of disturbed bats flying around and members of your tribe getting sick and dying, and it isn't hard to see how the ancients determined bats to be "evil".

Eventually, the superstitious "evil" associated with bats made it's way into religion.

For whatever reason, it seems that most "white" birds are not carrion feeders (seagulls being the prime exception I can think of at the moment), while many (most ?) black birds, especially crows/ravens are. In ancient times, it was far more likely to see crows/ravens feeding on the dead than it would be to see doves or swans.

Thus black birds tended to be associated with evil and war, and white birds with good and peace. Again, these ancient superstitions have also made their way into modern religion to an extent.

Snakes ? Well, they're just evil period.

But again, when you think about it. Many species of snakes are more active at night (that "scary" time) than during the day. Many are extremely poisonous and the bite from even a small snake could be enough to kill a person fairly quickly. Snakes have a nasty habit of crawling into peoples sleeping robes/beds/etc looking for a warm place to sleep (much to the concern and fright of the humans providing that warmth, and often with dire consequences to one or the other).

Some superstitions/religions actually considered various animals to be living embodiments of the gods. Hindus consider cows to be sacred. Some would say that is superstitious. Egyptians worshipped cats, and many of their gods had animal forms (Horus, Anubis, etc).

It was once said that History is Written by the Victors (as in, the losing side of a battle rarely got the chance to tell their version of events). This more or less holds true for "conquering" religions as well.

What is religion for one group is "superstitious" pagans beliefs for another. When one group gains dominance over another, the losing side's religion is often assimilated (in part) into the dominate religion, or wiped out altogether.

Some things are almost impossible to completely destroy though, which is why some "superstitions" remain with us today.

Edited November 1, 2008 by Kerryd

[tartempion]

Well, there are elephants, goats, and many other species which can ruin their local environment and have to move on to find greener pastures.

Not sure what that has to do with superstition, though.

Superstition only adds to the stupidity of the human species.

The scale of the destruction by humans has no comparison whatsoever with the destruction caused by lesser "intelligent" creatures.

That should tell you enough about our intelligence, or do you want to discuss this in a new topic?

And no, I don't want to discuss the crap I hear from the woman I love as far as superstition is concerned.

Edited November 2, 2008 by tartempion

[Jimjim]

Regarding the first post. It's simple. There is more to the human brain than logic. You probably believe in many "stupid" things yourself.