Mitchell Diamond
11 a.m., January 7, 2023
Join Mitchell Diamond in Mountain View, where he will discuss and answer questions, OR join us on Zoom.
Academics in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) field disagree about the origin and purpose of religion. Their theories fall into several camps. The most popular are:
- to enhance social cohesion and cooperation
- through mythologies religion functions to explain the existential mysteries—purpose of life, what happens after we die, etc.
- Religion is a byproduct of other evolved cognitive features and itself doesn’t have any function at all.
In this talk, Diamond briefly explains why these CSR theories are flawed and insufficient and offers a science-based alternative, specifically addressing why religion evolved biologically, and why it’s evolutionarily adaptive.
Diamond received a BA in biology with a focus on behavioral and evolutionary biology. He has extensively researched the prevailing cognitive science of religion theories and stumbled upon an explanation for the evolution of religion that better fits the evidence. He’s given talks to many of the atheist and freethinker groups in Northern California and has appeared on atheist podcasts including The Atheist Experience with Tracie Harris.
1/7/2024 Mitchell Diamond from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.
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