Can Science Prove the Existence of God?

 

 

The belief in God, or a higher power, likely emerged from a combination of factors including early humans' attempts to explain natural phenomena, the development of social structures, and the human need for comfort and meaning in the face of mortality.

Early humans faced many natural phenomena they couldn't understand, like weather patterns, celestial events, and even death. Belief in gods or spirits provided explanations for these events and helped make sense of the world around them. It's unknown whether Neanderthals had a belief in God or gods. While there's evidence of complex burial rituals and symbolic behaviors. Evidence suggests that early hominins, even before modern humans, displayed behaviors that could be interpreted as religious or spiritual, indicating a long history of belief. 

The belief in gods or supernatural beings is a widespread phenomenon across civilizations. Humans developed belief in God for a combination of reasons, including a desire to explain the unknown, find meaning and purpose, and seek comfort and social cohesion.

In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. For them, God is the supreme or ultimate reality, a celestial entity with perfect power, wisdom, and goodness. The idea of a single God, or monotheism, is considered to have emerged later, with the first monotheistic religion, Judaism, tracing its origins to Abraham around 2000 BCE. 

Sociologists view belief in God as a socially constructed phenomenon, not a divinely revealed truth. They explore how religious beliefs and practices function within society, focusing on their social origins, organization, and impact on social life. Psychological explanations of belief in God explore how deeply rooted human needs and cognitive tendencies contribute to religious belief. Theories suggest that belief in God may fulfill needs for comfort, security, and meaning, or that it arises from inherent cognitive biases. 

The question of whether humans created God is a complex one with varying perspectives. Some theories propose that humans invented the concept of God, particularly in early societies, to explain the unknown or provide comfort. Some anthropologists suggest that early humans, lacking scientific explanations, personified natural forces and created deities to understand and control their environment.  

Different cultures developed diverse pantheons and mythologies, indicating a human-driven process of creating gods. Some theories propose that the concept of God fulfills psychological needs, such as providing a sense of security, morality, and social cohesion. The ability to engage in complex social interactions and understand the minds of others may have led to the development of the concept of a divine being.

Religious thought has evolved over millennia, influenced by human development, societal changes, and new understandings of the world. Early forms of religion likely involved animistic beliefs and rituals to understand and interact with the natural world. Over time, religions have developed more complex systems of belief, including monotheism, and have adapted to changing social, political, and intellectual landscapes. Many religions posit God as eternal, existing without beginning or end.

In many theistic traditions, God is understood to be a source of goodness and righteousness. However, the existence of suffering and evil in the world raises questions about God's nature and intentions. Scientific evidence can't conclusively demonstrate that God exists. Theologians argue that science doesn't have the processes to prove or disprove the existence of God.

Some mathematicians have sought a logical proof for the existence of God. Those who refute this idea indicate that mathematics deals with abstract concepts and logical relationships, while the existence of God is an empirical question.

According to most major religions, God is considered omnipotent, and God has unlimited power and can do anything that is logically possible. The concept of God as all-powerful seems to imply an ability to eliminate evil. Many theologians argue that God created humans with free will, allowing them to choose between good and evil.

Aristotle conceived of God as the "unmoved mover," an eternal, perfect being that is the ultimate cause of all motion and change in the universe. Aristotle made God passively responsible for change in the world in the sense that all things seek divine perfection. He believed God is a mind, not a physical being, and is pure form without matter.

Baruch Spinoza's concept of God, as articulated in his philosophy, is fundamentally different from the traditional, theistic view. He posits that God is not a separate, transcendent being who created the world, but rather God is the universe itself, encompassing all of existence.

Arthur Schopenhauer, while not believing in a personal God in the traditional sense, grappled with the concept of God and religion throughout his philosophy. He viewed the world as driven by a blind, irrational "will" rather than divine design.

Friedrich Nietzsche's famous declaration, "God is dead," signifies the decline of belief in God and traditional morality within Western civilization. He argued that the concept of God was a human creation, and as rational thought and scientific understanding advanced, belief in God and the moral frameworks based on it were fading.

Albert Einstein's views on God were complex and evolved throughout his life. He didn't believe in a personal God who intervened in human affairs, but he did express admiration for the order and harmony of the universe, often using the term "God" to refer to this underlying principle. He rejected traditional religious dogma and anthropomorphic conceptions of God.

Bertrand Russell argued that the concept of God was not supported by reason or evidence and that religious beliefs were often harmful and irrational. He claims that the existence of suffering in the world makes it difficult to believe an omnipotent and benevolent God created the world.

Stephen Hawking was an atheist and frequently stated that he did not believe in God or an afterlife. He believed the universe was created by natural laws and that there is no divine creator or overseer. He viewed religion as a way to answer scientific questions before science.

Michio Kaku often discusses the concept of God in the context of physics, particularly in relation to string theory and the search for a theory of everything. He suggests that the "mind of God" could be understood as the mathematical laws governing the universe, potentially represented by a single, elegant equation.

The string theory cannot prove the existence of God either. String theory is a scientific endeavor to understand the fundamental nature of the universe. String theory conveys the idea that every particle of matter is actually the result of even smaller strings that vibrate. String theory describes space and time, matter and energy, gravity and light. String theory is a mathematical framework, but it currently lacks empirical evidence.

The concept of God as a supernatural alien is not a mainstream theological or scientific view, but it is a topic explored in science fiction and some fringe theories. Some argue that God is an extraterrestrial life form, an alien visitor from a highly developed extra-planetary civilization. These civilizations may be a Type VI Kardashev civilization, which exists beyond the multiverse, capable of controlling and manipulating the fundamental laws of multiple universes and even creating new ones. 

Can Science Prove the Existence of God? This is a complex question. The theologians point out that the question of God's existence may lie outside the purview of modern science by definition. Science offers many proofs from the physical universe, and scientific theories provide repeatedly testable explanations for natural observation. Scientific methods rely on observation and experimentation, which are not applicable to the supernatural Even physics cannot definitively prove or disprove the existence of God. relies on empirical evidence and the scientific method, while the concept of God is often a matter of faith and belief.

 

 

Holodomor—Ukrainian Famine and Genocide

 

Dr. Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D. PhD 

The Holodomor (kill by starvation) was the first genocide that was methodically planned out and perpetrated. It was one of the gravest crimes against humanity. The Holodomor was a genocide by artificial famine. It caused an immense cultural trauma. Holodomor had prolonged psychosocial repercussions. The persons subjected to the Holodomor and survived showed higher levels of conformism, anxiety, phobias, behavior avoidance, and inner conflicts. Holodomor has an intergenerational impact. Holodomor represents intergenerational transmission of trauma. The survivors of the Holodomor genocide have transmitted it to subsequent generations, impacting their physical emotional well-being and behaviors. 

The term Holodomor refers specifically to the brutal artificial famine imposed by Stalin’s regime on Soviet Ukraine and primarily ethnically Ukrainian areas in the Northern Caucasus in 1932-33. In the spring of 1933, the rural population of Ukraine was dying at a rate of 25,000 a day, half of them children. The land that was known worldwide as the breadbasket of Europe was being ravaged by a man-made famine of unprecedented scale. 1.5 million Ukrainians fall victim to Stalin’s “dekulakization” policies.  

After the October Revolution and the rise of the Bolsheviks, the economic policy of War Communism lasted from the middle of 1918, when the Civil War broke out, until it was replaced by the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921. War Communism involved the forced requisition of grain and output, and after the currency collapsed, it also involved a commitment to a nonmonetary economy. Acemoglu et al., 2010). Following these economic transformations and other reasons, a devastating famine descended on Russia in 1921. More than 25 million people were threatened by starvation and hunger-related diseases. 

The famine was centered in and beyond the Volga River valley and also in southern Ukraine. The best estimates of the death toll from the Great Famine of 1921 run from 5 million to 10 million people (Patenaude, 2007). As reported by Haller (2003), after the killing fields of the First World War, the political upheavals in Russia and elsewhere, and the rampant spread of disease among exhausted communities came the threat of food shortages that put an estimated 32 million lives at risk in Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia. In 1921, on top of the political chaos that caused the breakdown of whatever health services existed, the region experienced a devastating drought, leading to a generalized famine. In October of 1921, Volga refugees brought typhus and cholera to Ukraine, and in the next month, the whole country was swept by epidemics. The epidemics continued, on and off, throughout the whole period of the famine. Although no complete statistics are available on deaths from diseases, the epidemic cases were recorded by the hundreds of thousands, and their mortality rate was very high. The prime victims of the famine and the epidemics were children. They also were the main targets for kidnappings and cannibalism. A million children had been orphaned by wars and famine, and they had to fend for themselves as best they could since neither the state nor state-controlled charitable collectivize Gremyachy in one meeting (Russian Collectivization—George Beers). 

But in reality, collectivization caused massive collective trauma in Soviet society. Under the new legislation by Stalin, the farmers who lived in the countryside were labeled as Kulaks (wealthy landowners) and banished from their native land. Thousands were arrested and shot without any judicial proceedings. People became displaced and subjected to famine and disease. Hundreds of thousands perished due to Stalinist unplanned forced collectivization. Stalin deported or killed nearly five million peasants labeled as kulaks. Their equipment and livestock were sent to collective farms. Many of the remaining peasants were forced into collective farms to work, where they faced disease, starvation, and death. The effects of Stalin’s collectivization resulted in mass disruption of agricultural productivity and incalculable human losses. Collectivization lasted from 1928 until 1938, a decade of complete failure. Collectivization did not lead to agricultural production but rather to a famine that killed millions and the terror unnecessarily imposed on the Kulaks. Stalin’s Five-Year Plan for collectivization failed in a number of ways. Millions of people died of starvation, disease, and repression. (Russian Collectivization—George Beers).

References

Bezo B, Maggi S. Living in "survival mode:" Intergenerational transmission of trauma from the Holodomor genocide of 1932-1933 in Ukraine. Soc Sci Med. 2015 Jun;134:87-94. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.009. Epub 2015 Apr 15. PMID: 25931287.

George NS, Okeji FO, Iseghehi L. Beyond the Holodomor: Current hunger in Ukraine and global food insecurity. Public Health Chall. 2024 Jan 10;3(1):e149. doi: 10.1002/puh2.149. PMID: 40497074; PMCID: PMC12060754.

Jayatunge, R.M. (2016). PTSD in the Soviet Union. Godage Internationa Publishers. Colombo. 

Lumey LH, Li C, Khalangot M, Levchuk N, Wolowyna O. Fetal exposure to the Ukraine famine of 1932-1933 and adult type 2 diabetes mellitus. Science. 2024 Aug 9;385(6709):667-671. doi: 10.1126/science.adn4614. Epub 2024 Aug 8. PMID: 39116227.

Psychological Interpretation of Dante Alighieri’s Work

 

 

Written and Compiled by Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D. PhD 

The highly influential Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was instrumental in establishing world literature. He shaped Western literature by popularizing the vernacular language. He profoundly discussed political and social issues during his time. His discussions include rhetoric, moral philosophy, and political thought. He wrote on the human condition and explored themes of morality, sin, and redemption. Moreover, he captured a wide range of themes such as emotional suffering, interplay between reason, passion, and morality, human free will and human fatality.

Dante Alighieri's vivid depictions of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven in the Divine Comedy have profoundly influenced numerous psychological themes. His work represents the exploration of the human psyche and its moral transformation. He specifies human motivations and the consequences of choices. The Divine Comedy is a timeless story about love, faith, and justice. It is a reflective exploration of humanity. The Divine Comedy examines the vices of human nature and ramifications of tragedy.

Inferno opens on the evening of Good Friday in the year 1300. Traveling through a dark wood, Dante Alighieri has lost his path and now wanders fearfully through the forest. These lines represent the fear of the unknown. It is a common human experience characterized by anxiety and apprehension towards uncertain situations or things that are unfamiliar. The uncertainty is governed by the inability to predict outcomes. Then the great Roman poet Virgil leads Dante through the gates of Hell. Virgil represents human wisdom and reason. Virgil is the representation figure of great learning and wisdom, embodying the power of human intellect and classical knowledge.

In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the entire journey through the horrors of Inferno and the labors of Purgatory are framed by the desire for a reunion with the love of his youth, Beatrice (Matthew, 2022). His lost love Beatrice Portinari represents a powerful symbol of divine love and grace. She became a catalyst for his spiritual and artistic growth. Beatrice's untimely death created a deep void in his heart. In Dante's "Divine Comedy," Beatrice transitions from a historical figure to a powerful symbol. After her death, Beatrice became idealized love, divine grace, and spiritual guidance for Dante. Dante immortalized her, transforming her image into a heavenly salvation. 

Dante Alighieri's view of love is multifaceted, encompassing both earthly and divine. For him, love is a powerful force, capable of both elevating individuals to spiritual enlightenment and leading them to damnation. It is the ultimate force that moves the universe. It's the force that moves the sun and the other stars. Love guides him through celestial spheres. Love moves individuals towards spiritual growth. According to Dante, true love is something morally elevating. However, he is demonstrating the dual nature of love, capable of both creation and punishment. Lust may be intertwined with love; he distinguishes between true love and the excessive desire that leads to sin.

In Divine Comedy. Love has two faces. It can be a source of great joy and inspiration, but it can also lead to temptation and sin. Love is a force behind both salvation and damnation. In his essay "Dante's Idea of Love," Kenelm Foster explores Dante Alighieri's concept of love, emphasizing its spiritual and divine nature. The poem explores love and its capacity to elevate the soul. It also discusses its potential to lead to sin and damnation. Dante’s concept of love, both earthly and divine. It has more profound and complex meanings. In Dante's cosmology, divine love is a powerful and constructive force.

The Inferno explores the destructive nature of love when corrupted or misdirected. For Dante, the line between love and lust is crossed when desire becomes excessive and subordinates reason, leading to destructive actions and sinful behavior. For Dante, lust is a misdirection of love. It is characterized by excessive passion and a lack of self-control. In Divine Comedy, lust is described as a sin of excessive or uncontrolled sexual desire. Dante's illustration of lust emphasizes the psychology of desire. He condemns lust as a vice because it represents the sin of allowing carnal desires to overpower reason and judgment.

Dante Alighieri's views on sexuality can be regarded as pejorative, and they were widespread in his time. For Dante, homosexuality was a sin against nature. Dante, following the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, adopted Aquinas's framework for understanding morality. Thomas Aquinas, who was a prominent medieval philosopher and theologian, considered homosexual acts to be morally wrong. Dante's treatment of the punishment of homosexuals in Hell has direct connections with medieval Christian positions concerning homosexuality. In Dante's Inferno, the legendary Greek war hero Achilles is placed in the second circle of Hell, maybe due to Achilles' same-sex relationship with Patroclus. Dante maintained an orthodox theological notion of heterosexual lust.

The Divine Comedy highlights the importance of individual human experiences and moral choices. It’s a journey of personal growth and transformation. This work has historical, theological, and literary allusions. His work expressed strong emotions. The Divine Comedy explores a range of human emotions, including fear, courage, hope, love, compassion, desire, and joy. He portrayed humanist subjects in humanist style. The Divine Comedy reflected Renaissance humanism that moved with intellectual and cultural movement. He focused on human potential and achievements.

Dante believed humans are fundamentally social creatures, reliant on community and political structures for well-being and happiness. He embraced the Aristotelian view of human nature. He concurs with the freedom of choice that humans possess. He believed that humans are striving for self-improvement. Dante believed in the power of imagination. According to Dante, men are capable of generating their own reality.

Dante’s work demonstrated his deep interest in human nature. He discussed human nature through a detailed examination of its capacity for both great virtue and profound sin. According to Dante, humans are inherently social beings, striving for happiness, but also susceptible to pride, selfishness, and other flaws that lead to suffering and damnation.

Dante's work is a powerful exploration of human nature. Dante portrays human nature as inherently prideful, seeking only to benefit oneself. Through vivid depictions of hell, purgatory, and heaven, Dante examines human flaws, weaknesses, and the consequences of sin. Each level of his hell is a manifestation of human weakness and a loss of hope. Dante emphasized that human beings ought to exercise their rationality. His work is characterized by a synthesis of faith and reason.

Dante’s work represents "medieval psychoanalysis," and he explores human emotions, motivations, and the consequences of actions. For instance, his Inferno can be viewed as a representation of the descent into the depths of the human psyche. He writes about the nature of sin, guilt, and the struggle for redemption and tries to offer universal truths about the human experience.

For Dante the human being is defined as a union of body and soul. Dante emphasizes rationality as a defining characteristic of humans, distinguishing them from animals.  Chessick (2001) indicates that Dante’s depiction of the human psyche, with its struggles against sin and its journey toward salvation, can provide valuable perspectives on psychological processes. Dante explores various emotions and their manifestations in Inferno, including fear, anger, and compassion.

In the Divine Comedy, free will is a central theme. Dante believed that humans are endowed with free will. Humans have the capacity to choose between good and evil, with consequences. The humans retain the power to make moral decisions that determine their eternal fate. Humans have the rational capacity to choose between right and wrong. They choose their paths to either heaven or hell through their actions in life. For Dante, it is emphasized that divine forces do not negate human free will and human choices have direct consequences. 

Sigmund Freud viewed Dante's journey through the afterlife in the Divine Comedy as a psychological journey of self-discovery and grappling with unconscious desires and conflicts. Freud's exploration of the vicissitudes of love and instinct, particularly his concepts of Eros (life instinct) and Thanatos (death instinct), shares thematic parallels with Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, especially the Inferno.

For Freud, Dante’s work was reflecting the human psyche's structure, with the Inferno representing the depths of the unconscious and the id, while the ascent through Purgatory and Paradise mirrors the ego's struggle to integrate with the superego and achieve moral and spiritual growth. Through a Freudian lens, the Divine Comedy depicts the unconscious forces that drive human behavior and the hidden meanings within dreams and symbols. Both Dante and Freud explored themes of the unconscious, the nature of good and evil, and the journey of self-discovery.

Carl Jung viewed Dante's journey as a symbolic representation of the psyche's descent into the unconscious (Inferno), its purification and striving for wholeness (Purgatorio), and its eventual transcendence (Paradiso). He saw this as a parallel to the psychological process of confronting one's shadow, integrating the anima/animus, and ultimately realizing the Self. Jung had an interest in Dante's encounters with figures in the afterlife, and Jung interpreted them as symbolic representations of unconscious contents and archetypes. Jung emphasized that Dante's journey is not just a personal one, but also a representation of the universal human quest for meaning, wholeness, and connection with the divine. 

In Dante's Divine Comedy, there are a number of psychoanalytical symbols. The three beasts—leopard, lion, and she-wolf—symbolize sins and temptations, specifically lust, pride, and avarice, respectively. Virgil is a symbol of human reason, and Beatrice is divine love, all reflecting internal struggles and the journey towards self. The hierarchical structure of Hell itself can be seen as a symbolic representation of the different levels of sin and the consequences of choices.

Dante's portrayal of both heaven and hell demonstrates the full spectrum of human potential. Both places represent divine justice and the consequences of sin.

Dante's portrayal of heaven, found in his epic poem Paradiso, envisions a multi-layered cosmos where the blessed reside in concentric spheres surrounding the Earth. Dante's heaven culminates in the Empyrean, a realm of pure light where God resides, and the blessed experience perfect joy and unity with the divine will. Dante's portrayal of heaven is not just a depiction of a place but an exploration of the divine, the nature of love, and the ultimate goal of human existence. According to Dante, heaven is a hierarchy, a kingdom, and not a commune. It is a place for spiritual development. Paradise is out of the Earth.

Dante describes Hell as a funnel or inverted cone descending in nine diminishing rings until the center of the earth. The structure of Hell itself, with its nine circles representing different sins, provides a psychological map of the consequences of various vices. Dante wrote, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."

Dante explores the ideas of good and evil. In Dante's view, evil is not a positive force but rather a corruption or perversion of good, stemming from a turning away from God's will. Dante's concept of evil is deeply rooted in Christian theology. In Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," evil is depicted as a force of corruption and perversion, manifested in the structure and inhabitants of Hell. Dante's journey through the Inferno explores various manifestations of evil, from sins of incontinence to treachery, with each circle representing a deeper descent into wickedness.

Dante's vision of the afterlife in the Divine Comedy influenced the Renaissance. However, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy does not explicitly depict reincarnation as a part of the afterlife. Instead, his work focuses on the Christian concept of a fixed, eternal afterlife with heaven, hell, and purgatory. In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, the afterlife is a structured realm divided into Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Heaven (Paradiso). It's a place where souls are judged based on their earthly lives and experience varying degrees of punishment or reward.

In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, human suffering is a central theme, particularly in the Inferno. The poem explores various forms of suffering, both physical and psychological, experienced by sinners in hell. Beyond physical pain, Dante explores the psychological suffering of the damned, including despair, remorse (or lack thereof), and the torment of unfulfilled desires. In Dante's Divine Comedy, human suffering is depicted as a consequence of sin, both in the literal sense of hellish torment and in the purgative process of Purgatory. The Purgatorio (the second part of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy) explores the process of spiritual purification through suffering, highlighting how even painful experiences can contribute to one's growth.

Dante Alighieri's works offer a profound exploration of the human search for meaning. The poems delve into themes of morality, faith, and the consequences of choices, ultimately pointing towards a higher purpose and divine love. Dante explores the ethical implications of actions, highlighting the importance of reason, self-control, and the pursuit of virtue. He emphasizes the transformative power of love. His works provide profound insights into the human condition, and they're an allegory for the human experience based on universal human themes.

  

 

References

 Adela Abella. (2016) Psychoanalysis and The Arts: the Slippery Ground of Applied Analysis. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly 85:1, pages 89-119.

Alighieri D. Il Convivio: [Excerpts]. Acad Med. 2023 Mar 1;98(3):330. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005086. Epub 2022 Nov 8. PMID: 40317977.

Brockman.D.(2017). A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Dante's The Divine Comedy. ‎ Routledge.

Chessick RD. Dante's Divine Comedy revisited: what can modern psychoanalysts learn from a medieval "psychoanalysis"? J Am Acad Psychoanal. 2001 Summer;29(2):281-304. doi: 10.1521/jaap.29.2.281.17257. PMID: 11685992.

Jayatunge, R.M. (2016). Between Literature and Psychology. Godage International Publishers. Colombo.

Matthew (2022). Jung’s Anima and Literature Archetypes of Wholeness.

Maulana , M.R. (2024). Dante’s Inferno, LGBT-Q, and Christianity: A Closer Reading on Medieval Christian Perspective Regarding Homosexuality. Dunamis Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Kristiani 8(2):633-649 DOI:10.30648/dun.v8i2.1102.

The Evolutionary Origins of Faith in Humans

  

 

 

Faith is a belief and trust in and loyalty to a person, to a force, or to an institution. It is a strong belief or trust in something or someone, often involving acceptance of things that cannot be proven or directly observed.  

Religious faith is trust and belief in a deity, spiritual force, or religious doctrines. Religious faith often has no intellectual validation. It’s a belief without total scientific proof. Some skeptics indicate religious faith as belief without evidence. Secular faith does not rely on traditional religious doctrines or supernatural beliefs and puts more emphasis on human experience and rational explanations. Secular faith is built on a systematic way of acquiring knowledge about the natural world through observation and experimentation.  

Non-religious faith refers to a belief system, ethical framework, or worldview that is not based on religious teachings or supernatural explanations. It has a wide range of perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, and humanism. In non-religious faith, there is no traditional or supernatural sense; instead, there is faith in humanity's ability to reason.

The human has the capacity to seek meaning and explanations for the world around them. The origins of faith can be explained through evolutionary psychology and anthropology. Faith is intertwined with social structures, community dynamics, and cultural contexts. Social interactions, shared beliefs, group dynamics, and collective identity significantly influence individual faith.  A combination of evolutionary and cultural factors, including the development of imagination, gave rise to faith in humans.

People make sense of their social worlds through communication and social interaction, and this process is known as the symbolic interactionist perspective. In symbolic interactionism, faith is understood as a dynamic, socially constructed phenomenon shaped by ongoing interactions and interpretations. Faith is shaped by interpretations.

Religious symbols and rituals promote shaping faith in an individual. Through shared interpretations of symbols and participation in rituals, they augment the core beliefs and faith. According to symbolic interactionism, faith is not static. Because meanings are constantly being negotiated and reinterpreted.  

The concept of faith is shaped by societal factors and interactions. The concept of faith is not directly a biological adaptation. It emerged and evolved alongside other cognitive and social developments in humans.

The capacity to understand that others have their own thoughts, beliefs, and intentions evolved during the early stages of human evolution, specifically within the hominin lineage. (The hominin lineage refers to the evolutionary branch that includes modern humans and all our extinct ancestors since the split from the last common ancestor with chimpanzees). Early hominins exhibited ritualistic behaviors, which may be precursors to religious belief.  

Early humans developed faith through a combination of factors, including the need to explain the unknown and a sense of awe and wonder at the natural world. Some evidence suggests religious practices may have emerged in the Upper Paleolithic period (around 50,000 years ago). Australopithecus that lived in Africa from about 4.2 to 1.4 million years ago are categorized as pre-religious hominins.

Neanderthals lived from approximately 400,000 years ago to around 40,000 years ago and had proto-religious practices. It’s difficult to say that Neanderthals had a concept of faith; however, they had symbolic understanding of death and possibly an afterlife.  

Early humans attributed spirits or souls to natural objects and phenomena, leading to animistic beliefs and practices. They attributed agency to inanimate objects or natural events, leading to the development of religious beliefs. Furthermore, religion evolved to enhance group survival by fostering cooperation and reducing conflict.  

The Neolithic period began roughly 12,000 years ago with the advent of agriculture in the Near East and Mesopotamia. Neolithic religious beliefs focused on fertility, nature, and the cycle of life and death, with a strong emphasis on animism and ancestor veneration. In the Neolithic period (also known as the New Stone Age), the concept of “faith” emerged, and this is evident through various forms of religious practices and beliefs observed in archaeological findings.  

The Indus Valley Civilization, including Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, which existed from approximately 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, had a religion that focused on nature and fertility. The key aspects of their faith were based on the Mother Goddess. Ancient Egyptian civilization, beginning around 3100 BC and ending around 30 BC, worshipped many gods and goddesses, each associated with specific aspects of life and nature. Their faith was based on polytheism.

Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions, believed to have been founded in the 6th or 7th century BC. It was a monotheistic religion. The key aspect of the Zoroastrian faith is its dualistic cosmology.  

Hinduism originated in the Indus Valley Civilization, around 2300-1500 BCE. Faith is a central aspect of Hinduism, and it centers around the belief in a supreme God, Brahman. The concept of Brahman is the ultimate reality and source of all existence.  

In Buddhism (which originated in the 6th or 5th century BCE), faith is a deep-seated confidence rooted in understanding and experience rather than blind belief. In Buddhism, faith arises from personal understanding and experience, encouraging exploration and insight rather than blind acceptance.  

In Ancient Roman (753 BC - 476 AD) religion was influenced by both Greek and Etruscan traditions. Their faith was expressed through a polytheistic religion focused on rituals, sacrifices, and the worship of numerous gods and spirits.  

Pre-Christian faiths encompassed a wide array of religious beliefs and practices. It centered on polytheism and nature worship. They worshiped multiple gods and goddesses. Their faith was based on animistic beliefs.  

The core belief in Christianity centers on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God and the savior of humanity. Faith is absolutely central to Christianity. In Christianity, faith is understood as a belief in God, particularly in Jesus Christ, and a trust in His promises and teachings.  

In Islam, faith, or Iman, is a fundamental concept encompassing belief in six core articles: God (Allah), His angels, His books, His prophets, the Day of Judgment, and divine decree. Faith forms the foundation for all acts of worship and is a prerequisite for their validity.  

The relationship between faith and politics is multifaceted. Faith can impact people's views on social and political issues. Politicians can misuse faith by manipulating religious messages, facts, institutions, and sentiments to fulfill their egoistic political goals.

Faith has a profound impact on society. Faith offers a framework for meaning-making, hope, and connectedness. Sociology studies faith as a social phenomenon, examining its impact on individuals, groups, and societies. It analyzes how people's faith shapes social norms.

In psychology, faith is understood as a fundamental human phenomenon related to meaning-making, involving a belief system and trust in something beyond what is immediately apparent. Faith is a broader human capacity to imagine an ultimate environment and base one's worldview and actions on it.

In neuropsychological terms, faith is a complex cognitive and emotional process. Faith can influence brain activity and structure. Research indicates that religious beliefs can activate the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region associated with self-representation, emotional associations, and goal-directed behavior.

Faith is often believed to have a role in healing, and faith can facilitate healing. The placebo effect, stress reduction, and altered states of consciousness play a key role in faith healing. The power of belief influences physical and mental well-being. Psychological explanations focus on the mind's capacity to impact the body, including stress reduction, improved coping mechanisms, and even immune system activation.  

Faith is foundational to human civilization, providing individuals and societies with a sense of purpose, community, and resilience. Faith often brings people together, creating communities based on shared beliefs and values. It gives a sense of purpose and moral grounding. Faith can significantly impact mental health. Faith can reduce tension and anxiety, diminish self-blame, stabilize emotional status, and improve self-knowledge. Faith, in its various forms, provides a crucial foundation for individuals and societies in navigating the complexities of the future.

 (Written and Complied by Dr. Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D. PhD )

 

 

Exposure to Reality vs. Fantasy in the Formative Years of Children

 

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D PhD 

The formative years refer to the critical period in a child's life, typically ranging from birth to around eight years, and this period is vital for emotional, cognitive, and social development. Early childhood experiences from birth to age eight affect the development of the brain's architecture.

Brain changes reflect psychological maturity. This is a crucial and sensitive period that needs a nurturing environment and attentive care. During this time period, the child is exposed to numerous mental and emotional challenges. These challenges and experiences help to mold the child's motivation, self-regulation, empathy, problem-solving, communication, and self-esteem. Furthermore, children learn many of the skills that help them to function in society in a more effective way.

The child's learning and education create a major impact in the formative years. It is a critical window of opportunity to thrive. It provides the foundation for all future learning, behavior, and health. A formative experience strongly influences future adult life.

A baby's brain starts developing in the womb. At just six weeks, the embryo's brain and nervous system begin to develop. The brain grows starting before birth and continuing into early childhood. The research indicates that the brain doubles in size in the first year. In the first few years of life, more than one million neural connections are formed each second. It keeps growing to about 80% of adult size by age 3 and 90%—nearly fully grown—by age 5. During this time period, exposure to positive interactions, secure attachment with the parents, and safe and supportive environments promote healthy physical and mental development.

A child’s interaction with the outer environment is most important, and it influences their brain development. The child's brain is highly plastic and responsive to change. Their experiences alter the brain structure. Fruitful and positive brain development requires a healthy and stimulating environment, adequate nutrients, and positive social interaction with attentive, reciprocal caregivers.

Stress and anxiety generating negative experiences disrupt the brain’s architecture, affecting a child’s ability to learn and grow. If a child is deprived of play, positive stimulation, and healthy interaction with their parents and caregivers, it affects their overall development with a long-lasting, detrimental impact.

Children are more able to project themselves into a fantasy world. This could be interpreted as an early defensive mechanism in children. Imagination and magical thinking are a crucial developmental phase for children. Around the age of two, children begin to play pretend. Having an imaginary companion is an example of children's pretend play. Often, they use realistic toys to mimic familiar events. This type of play helps to enhance their creativity, communication skills, and emotional regulation and improve critical thinking.

Children learn what they live. Children are able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. by the age of 3 to 5. Children often form their beliefs about reality. For some children, the lines between reality and imagination/fantasy are less clear. Between the ages of 7 and 11, children start to think more logically, and they tend to focus on realism.

As described by the famous child psychologist Jean Piaget, magical thinking is most prominent in children between ages two and seven. Young preschoolers tend to believe everything they see on TV is real. In preschool years, children's fantasy-reality differentiation undergoes significant development. According to one US-based study, four-year-old participants believed Big Bird from Sesame Street was real. In contrast, 5- to 6-year-old participants knew that Big Bird was a person wearing a costume.

Exposure to reality rather than fantasy in childhood is important. Exposure to reality prepares them for the real world! It helps them to discover “realities of life” and face life challenges with courage and determination.

Teaching children fantasy vs. reality is a challenge for the parents. Research suggests that children are more thoughtful about the differences between fantasy and reality than they may appear to adults. Children hold some clear distinction between the real and the imaginary. Children are more engaged and attentive when they see events that challenge their understanding of how reality works.

Researcher Venus Ho (2024) states that although stories for children often feature supernatural and fantastical events, children themselves often prefer realistic events when choosing what should happen in a story. Venus Ho indicates that children avoid including fantastic events in fiction and suggests that children use precedent and familiarity to decide what can happen in a story.

Children start to make sense of their world via play. Child play promotes personal growth, social connection, and engagement. Play provides children an opportunity to achieve mastery of their environment. and control it through their imagination. By engaging in play, they build physical, social, and intellectual skills. Play allows children to safely explore their fears and practice adult roles.

Children should engage in sand and mud play. Sand and mud play is good for their tactile stimulation. It is a sensory experience that enhances their tactile and cognitive development. Also, this type of play encourages exploration and creativity in them. Some experts point out that playing with sand and mud can be a calming and therapeutic experience for children.

A child learns about his environment through play with physical objects. Providing toys for children is a healthy option. When selecting toys, it's important to give them toys that appeal to their sensory-motor and intellectual needs. The toys should help the child to think, create, and imagine. Toys help to enrich play and support children's development. Furthermore, toys lay the foundation for improving cognitive and motor skills.

Some parents facilitate the children making their own toys. It stimulates creativity in children. In addition, it facilitates conceptual understanding. It gives a unique experience and satisfaction to the child.