Find food, have sex, not die. That’s pretty much all we need to do — but why do we make it so complicated?

❍ Subscribe to The Well on YouTube: https://bit.ly/welcometothewell 
❍ Up next: How enlightenment permanently alters your brain https://youtu.be/3PIQj7Fxk30

What is the capacity for belief in humans, and how does it shape our lives and interactions with the world? According to Agustin Fuentes, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University and author of ‘Why We Believe, Evolution and the Human Way of Being,’ the human capacity for belief is the most significant trait that sets us apart from other animals.

This capacity for belief, which importantly is not limited to religious belief, allows us to take our experiences and turn them into ideologies, lifestyles, and perceptions that we can commit to fully — thereby shaping our reality and the reality of future generations.

At its core, Fuentes explains, human belief is rooted in, and contingent on, our evolutionary history. Unlike other mammals, human infants are born with brains that are just 40% of their adult size. This extended childhood allows for constant social and environmental influence, which become the fabric of our being; beliefs even influence our biological make-up, from our gut microbiome to our hormones.

Read the full video transcript: https://bigthink.com/the-well/evolution-of-belief/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

❍ About The Well ❍

Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.

So what do they think?

How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions?

Let’s dive into The Well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Join The Well on your favorite platforms:
❍  Facebook: https://bit.ly/thewellFB 
❍  Instagram: https://bit.ly/thewellIG

The Well Transcript on Youtube

Why belief is the most powerful disruptor | Agustín Fuentes