PuckSR
Posts: 314
Joined: Nov. 2005
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The belief in the supernatural seems to be a universal trait of all human beings. Without exception, cultures throughout the world believe in supernatural occurences.
(Yah...i know this sounds eerily familiar...but its actually a fairly good piece of evidence for archetypal beliefs...in other words...all cultures also know that floods can be disastrous)
It seems to me that the child would most likely believe in a supernatural explanation as well...since most children tend to believe in supernatural explanations readily.
The belief in the supernatural seems to stem from our ability to think. A dog most likely doesnt consider the supernatural v. natural explanations of events. He is simply concerned with cause and effect. He simply doesnt concern himself with the complex thought of why something happens. We have minds that think about this sort of thing...and we ask questions.
Early supernatural beliefs probably didnt involve "gods". Think of luck, superstition, magic....
The entire concept of an entity behind "magic" must have come much later....
In all honesty...I would argue that naturalism is not inherent, but rather a worldview that must be taught. Humans naturally pursue the best explanation, and in all honesty supernatural explanations are the most complete...
Naturalism asks one to reject supernatural arguments because of the irrationality of the belief, rather than the explanatory power of the belief. With this in mind, no one is born an atheist(if we define atheism as the belief that the supernatural does not exist). We all seek the "most complete" explanation at birth, it is only later that we learn to question the sanity and rationality of the explanation.
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