Small piece on faith,

'Darwin kills the magic', I heard her say. I had been talking about the wonder I felt when contemplating the theory of evolution. To me the idea has such elegance, such simplicity and complexity that as much asan idea can have beauty, that idea is the most beautiful. Yet to her, the reverse was true. All those notions of magic and spirits, reincarnations and transmigrations, souls unchained to meat, gods and elves, all the stuff I find so dull, she found wonderful. And here I saw it for the first time. At least half the decision is an aesthetic one. I believe myself a free thinker. Someone who is sceptical where there is no evidence. She calls me an atheist, as if it were a position like being a theist. For me the beauty and wonder lies all to one side. The myths are mildly curious but next to what scientific discovery delivers, it pales. So I believe that the decision is an aesthetic one as much as an intellectual one.
It is also something that you do not choose. Any more than you choose your sexuality, gender or colour of your skin. I can not make myself believe in things I don't.
But I wonder, what makes them? I can't get the faithful. Those who choose to believe despite evidence. Because that is their choice. No matter what comes they still keep faith. It must reflect how we approach life. I tend not to trust. I suspect that what I see is not real. Believers must have far happier lives, even if they are oblivious to the world. The advantages are vast. I would, in all honesty believe if I could. I did not choose to be this way.
Artists and those who believe in paying for sacred works require a kind of faith. They need to believe that a can of beans on a plinth presented by Damien Hirst or marcel Duchamp is in some way more valuable than one presented by joe blogs. They believe in essences. Bruce Hood, the experimental psychologist, behind his lectures sometimes by producing a cardigan. He will get the audience to pass it round, letting them know it has been dry cleaned. He then informs them that it had belonged to Fred west. This piece of information is not true. People now feel impelled to go wash their hands. What is this if not a belief in essences. Richard Dawkins, the crown prince of reason is known to collect pens used by Charles Darwin. We al hold such superstitions. Children believe their teddy bears contain an essence. If lost an identical teddy will not do.
To be continued...