CHRISTIANITY EMERGED FROM THE PALEOLITHIC OOZE

My point will not be Wilson's point. He's talking about the epigenetic roots of the arts in paleolithic humans. My point, when I look at the archetypes listed as part of Wilson's writing here, is that Christianity is just one branch of those religions which go back into prehistory. It's myths are no more realistic or truthful than the myths of other religions of those times. I think that the invention of writing is the only reason that current religions are harder to escape. Their longevity has nothing to do with the authenticity of their dogmas, but religion may very well be deeply rooted in the psyche of the human animal. Again, that doesn't prove anything except that believing in something larger than ourselves may have been more crucial in earlier times to human survival than currently. I do like Wilson's phrase "shocking recognition of the self" to explain the human dilemma in the final paragraph.

All the following paragraphs are scanned from CONSILIENCE, pp. 223-224.

(begin quote) WHAT CAN WE truly know about the creative powers of the human mind? The explanation of their material basis will be found at the juncture of science and the humanities. The first premise of the scientific contribution is that Homo sapiens is a biological species born of natural selection in a biotically rich environment. Its corollary is that the epigenetic rules affecting the human brain were shaped during genetic evolution by the needs of Paleolithic people in this environment.

The premise and corollary have the following consequence. Culture, rising from the productions of many minds that interlace and reinforce one another over many generations, expands like a growing organism into a universe of seemingly infinite possibility. But not all directions are equally likely. Before the scientific revolution, every culture was sharply circumscribed by the primitive state of that culture’s empirical knowledge. The culture evolved under the local influence of climate, water distribution, and food resources. Less obviously, its growth was profoundly affected by human nature.

Which brings us back to the arts. The epigenetic rules of human nature bias innovation, learning, and choice. They are gravitational centers that pull the development of mind in certain directions and away from others. Arriving at the centers, artists, composers, and writers over the centuries have built archetypes, the themes most predictably expressed in original works of art.

Although recognizable through their repeated occurrence, archetypes cannot be easily defined by a simple combination of generic traits. They are better understood with examples, collected into groups that share the same prominent features. This method—called definition by specification—works well in elementary biological classification, even when the essential nature of the species as a category remains disputed. In myth and fiction as few as two dozen such subjective groupings cover most of the archetypes usually identified as such. Some of the most frequently cited are the following.

In the beginning, the people are created by gods, or the mating of giants, or the clash of titans; in any case, they begin as special beings at the center of the world.

The tribe emigrates to a promised land (or Arcadia, or the Secret Valley, or the New World).

The tribe meets the forces of evil in a desperate battle for survival; it triumphs against heavy odds.

The hero descends to hell, or is exiled to wilderness, or experiences an iliad in a distant land; he returns in an odyssey against all odds past fearsome obstacles along the way, to complete his destiny.

The world ends in apocalypse, by flood, fire, alien conquerors, or avenging gods; it is restored by a band of heroic survivors.

A source of great power is found in the tree of life, the river of life, philosopher’s stone, sacred incantation, forbidden ritual, secret formula.

The nurturing woman is apotheosized as the Great Goddess, the Great Mother, Holy Woman, Divine Queen, Mother Earth, Gaia.

The seer has special knowledge and powers of mind, available to those worthy to receive it; he is the wise old man or woman, the holy man, the magician, the great shaman.

The Virgin has the power of purity, is the vessel of sacred strength, must be protected at all costs, and perhaps surrendered up to propitiate the gods or demonic forces.

Female sexual awakening is bestowed by the unicorn, the gentle beast, the powerful stranger, the magical kiss.

The Trickster disturbs established order and liberates passion as the god of wine, king of the carnival, eternal youth, clown, jester, clever fool.

A monster threatens humanity, appearing as the serpent demon (Satan writhing at the bottom of hell), dragon, gorgon, golem, vampire.

I F T H E ARTS are steered by inborn rules of mental development, they are end products not just of conventional history but also of genetic evolution. The question remains: Were the genetic guides mere byproducts— epiphenomena—of that evolution, or were they adaptations that directly improved survival and reproduction? And if adaptations, what exactly were the advantages conferred? The answers, some scholars believe, can be found in artifacts preserved from the dawn of art. They can be tested further with knowledge of the artifacts and customs of present-day hunter-gatherers.

This is the picture of the origin of the arts that appears to be emerging. The most distinctive qualities of the human species are extremely high intelligence, language, culture, and reliance on long-term social contracts. In combination they gave early Homo sapiens a decisive edge over all competing animal species, but they also exacted a price we continue to pay, composed of the shocking recognition of the self, of the finiteness of personal existence, and of the chaos of the environment. (end quote)
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"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph." —Shirley Temple