EC: Without faith would we be human?

Wilson begins his article The Riddle of the Human Species by stating that the "majority of people prefer to interpret history as the unfolding of a supernatural design" and goes on to discuss why he believes that is wrong. He addresses a few aspects of our biological history including eusociality, the development of human bodies, and the two theories of the "grandmaster of advanced social evolution." He essentially argues that the biological and social changes that occurred as humans became carnivores and began living together at campsites is the route of humanity. He says humans developed complex social structures and a large variety of relationships. He also discussed the development of our brains and how the change in our diet led to our new social structure. He concludes the article by saying "Contrary to general opinion, demons and gods do not vie for our allegiance. We are self-made..."

I think now is as good a time as any to inform you that I don't really practice a religion, but I am not atheistic or agnostic either. However, I did not appreciate Wilson's atheistic approach in this article. I think the few atheistic remarks scattered into the article were unnecessary and took away from the well written facts in the rest of paper. I think that he should have looked a little closer at religion when examining the “riddle of the human species.” Whether he believes in any religion or not, faith has played a huge part in the development of human society. Spirituality and belief (whether it is in deities or not) is an integral part of every human being. Without faith would we be human? Other organisms do not practice any faith. I think that one aspect of what makes us human is the ability to believe in things we can’t understand with the five basic senses. Most other organisms rely on only their senses to tell them everything they need to know about the world around them.

Wilson prides himself in his evaluation of the biological evolution of humans. He looks at humans throughout the whole of their history and argues that we have been socially  changed by our physical development. I wish he had lined up the history of faith alongside our physical and social development. Religion has almost always been a part of our society and has had a colossal impact on the history of humanity. Faith has caused us to “belong to groups,” to have “competition and conflict,” and to feel and evaluate emotions such as “trust, love, hatred, suspicion, admiration, envy, and sociability.” These are all things that Wilson argues were caused by only our biological evolution, but there are certainly other causes for each aspect.

Whether you believe that we are self-made or not, I think we can all agree that having beliefs, whether they are aesthetic or religious, is an essential piece of being human. We have the capacity to believe in something we can’t see, and it has been a part of our humanity since the first person feared a deity. The last sentence of Wilson’s article is “Self-understanding is what counts for long-term survival, both for individuals and for the species.” If belief is a part of all of us, his argument only strengthens mine: faith is an essential part of every individual and of humanity as a whole, because faith provides an understanding of ourselves and our universe.