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Ask HN: Does culture mean humans lack critical thinking skills?
1 point by keernan 7 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 2 comments
For some time now I have been fascinated by the fact the majority of humans in the world belong to a religion

and believe their religion is 'the real one' to the exclusion of other religions.

What fascinates me is the obvious reality that everyone's religion is the result of

pure chance of the religion you were taught as a child.

And while educational level impacts the percentage of religious belief that sustains

itself into adulthood, it doesn't eliminate it by any stretch of the imagination.

So, something else is going on. It seems the human brain is wired in a way that blocks critical

thinking to be applied towards early life environmental experiences/learning.

So, tonight, I asked Google: What does the existence of culture tell us about the lack

of critical thinking abilities of humans?

Google AI thinks so: "The existence of culture indicates that humans, to a certain extent, may not always engage in

critical thinking because culture often shapes our perceptions and beliefs without us

actively questioning them, leading to uncritically accepting norms and practices established

within our society; essentially, we may not always critically analyze the information and

values we inherit from our culture."

Link: https://www.google.com/search?q=what+does+the+existence+of+culture+tell+us+about+the+lack+of+critical+thinking+abilities+of+humans&sca_esv=7ec7b14a29e3f231&ei=-ctDZ6_ZF8qA5OMP29mIuQk&ved=0ahUKEwjvuZj5o_aJAxVKAHkGHdssIpcQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=what+does+the+existence+of+culture+tell+us+about+the+lack+of+critical+thinking+abilities+of+humans&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiYndoYXQgZG9lcyB0aGUgZXhpc3RlbmNlIG9mIGN1bHR1cmUgdGVsbCB1cyBhYm91dCB0aGUgbGFjayBvZiBjcml0aWNhbCB0aGlua2luZyBhYmlsaXRpZXMgb2YgaHVtYW5zSMTjAVAAWLXdAXAEeACQAQCYAXCgAd4vqgEFNjAuMTS4AQPIAQD4AQGYAkKgAqArwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAg4QLhiABBixAxiDARjUAsICERAuGIAEGLEDGNEDGIMBGMcBwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBcICDhAuGIAEGLEDGNEDGMcBwgILEC4YgAQY0QMYxwHCAgUQABiABMICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAggQABiABBixA8ICDRAAGIAEGEMYyQMYigXCAgsQABiABBiSAxiKBcICEBAAGIAEGJECGIoFGEYY-QHCAioQABiABBiRAhiKBRhGGPkBGJcFGIwFGN0EGEYY-QEY9AMY9QMY9gPYAQHCAgsQABiABBixAxiKBcICBxAAGIAEGArCAgsQABiABBiGAxiKBcICCBAAGKIEGIkFwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgYQABgWGB7CAgUQIRigAcICBRAhGKsCwgIFECEYnwXCAgcQIRigARgKwgIHECEYChirApgDALoGBggBEAEYE5IHBTQ4LjE4oAfP8AM&sclient=gws-wiz-serp



We’re an extremely social species, which is what led to our success. Being left out of or ostracized from our social groups is emotionally painful. I don’t think there’s more needed to explain why religious thinking hangs around despite critical thinking, though this certainly isn’t the only reason. Of course, that doesn’t apply to those who choose willful ignorance. And that’s not even addressing the fact that the certainty of religious belief probably feels pretty good.


Yes




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