(4) Human religion as operant conditioning

Basic Dimension

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Sunday, 6 July 2014 

The Sexual Theory of Religion


In our view human religion is based on three concepts of eternal life:

A: Genetic immortality by inbreeding and incest (7 mya)
B: Reincarnation into the (earthly) universe (3 mya)
C: Reincarnation into the parallel universe (200.000 ya)

The psychology of religion is contained within these three concepts. Concepts of eternal life constitute the drama of Islamic culture, by developing schizophrenia in the interactions:

                                       

How to constrain the interactions between concepts

We determined the relations between these forms of immortality with psychological means. We chose for a simple technique named 'operant conditioning'. It is our conviction that this model gives the most parsimonious description of human religion. In the following we treat the process of psychological conditioning in brief.

In human evolution mankind overcame mortality by more and more advanced abstractions of the afterlife. These connections are incorporated in the various versions of the Paradise story:

http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/John-Chapter-8/

Chapter 8

1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Conditioning in religion

Conditioning in religion is a mixture of classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning describes the very basis of religious indoctrination, while operant conditioning treats magical thinking as a learning process. However, both techniques fail in describing the complete process of religious indoctrination. We describe both techniques briefly and then make our choice.


Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's dog)

Conditioned and unconditioned stimuli

Natural relations are mostly unconditioned. They happen by inherent causality. The saliva of Pavlov’s dog is an example of an unconditioned response on the offering of meat as an unconditioned stimulus.

Before experiment: 

Meat: unconditioned stimulus.
Saliva: unconditioned response.

But later, saliva becomes a conditioned response on the light as a conditioned stimulus in an artificial relation:

Experiment phase 1 (reinforcement):

Light: conditioned stimulus.
Meat: unconditioned stimulus. 
Saliva: unconditioned response.
                              

Experiment phase 2:

Light: conditioned stimulus. 
Saliva: conditioned response. 

As we see, there is no natural causal relation between light and saliva. Light is a superimposed stimulus leading to a psychologically caused association.

Now, religion turns also natural caused relations into psychological ones, into magical thinking. Religion exists of artificial SR relations. We can only understand religion scientifically if we are able to trace conditioned SR relations back to their former unconditioned ones. 

Operant Conditioning (Skinner's pigeons)

Operant conditioning is the reinforcement of desired behavior with a reward afterwards:

Classical situation:

Unknown trigger: unconditioned stimulus.
Pigeon pecks on button: unconditioned response. 

          Transition to operant conditioning: 

Unknown trigger: unconditioned stimulus.
Pigeon pecks on button: unconditioned response.
Reinforcement: conditioned by reward afterwards.

Operant conditioning: 

Operant response: pecking the button
Reinforcing stimulus: getting a grain 

Classical and operant conditioning

In classical conditioning the conditioned response (saliva) resembles the response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus: the meat. The saliva response is identical in conditioned and unconditioned situations. And that means that the behavior of the dog will not be shaped. 

Light: conditioned stimulus.
Meat: unconditioned stimulus.
Saliva: unconditioned response.

In operant conditioning however behavior can be shaped into all kinds of directions:

Unknown trigger: unconditioned stimulus.
Pigeon pecks on button: unconditioned response.
Reinforcement: conditioned reward afterwards.
Pigeon pecks two times on button: conditioned response.
Reinforcement: conditioned reward afterwards (new direction).

With all kinds of procedures one can influence behavior by operant conditioning. Operant conditioning means that the individual has to take some particular behavior to attain the reward. A pigeon must peck in some order to get the grain. His behavior 'operates' on the environment to get a reward. Hence, it is called operant behavior.

But in classical conditioning, respondent behavior is directly under control of the stimulus: the dog has to salivate if it smells meat.

Now it is obvious that religious indoctrination must consist mainly of operant conditioning. 

We only need classical conditioning where religious indoctrination starts as a passive process. But soon thereafter it becomes operant conditioning: a learning process with punishment for bad thinking and reward for good thinking.  

For example, in classical conditioning man accidentally perceived in the evolution that saturated inbreeding delivered more look-alike offspring. This could be considered as a classical unconditioned stimulus-response (SR) situation: 

Inbreeding: unconditonal stimulus 

Look-alike offspring: unconditional response

or 

Inbreeding: unconditional stimulus

Genetic immortality: unconditional response

Classical conditioning can be seen as a special case from operant conditioning.  The unconditioned stimulus (meat) from Pavlov's dog can be seen as a primary reinforcer in operant conditioning (rewarding pigeons with grains).

First order conditioning (meat-saliva) in classical conditioning can be compared with primary reinforcement (random pecking- grain) in operant conditioning.

In the barter is paid with goods, it works with primary reinforcers. Money is a secondary reinforcer because it is associated with goods. It is the better reinforcer. But in religion it applies that farther reinforcers give incomprehensible links with the operant response (inbreeding). This we call magical conditioning. The power of religion at first sight is its incomprehensibility. 

But the link between inbreeding and reincarnation is not incomprehensible. The derivation of earthly reincarnation from inbreeding is quite understandable:

Assumption 153: With the invention of earthly reincarnation inbreeding lost its rational connection with genetic immortality and now became magically bound to earthly reincarnation. And in a way it still made sense. Males could only reincarnate safely into their own tribe if they enforced inbreeding on women during lifetime. Hence, inbreeding was not meant for immortality of their genes any longer, but instead inbred bodies served for reincarnation. And this latter relation became the principal connection in the inbreeding instinct, because it was the best reinforcer of inbreeding.

The derivation of reincarnation of the parallel universe from inbreeding is quite understandable too:

Assumption 154: There exists a magical but reasonable connection between the parallel universe and inbreeding and incest. Earthly reincarnation offered endless orgasm in the afterlife of the tribe. But the prospect of the same unattractive cousins and sisters appeared no promise but a curse. Therefore Homo sapiens invented the parallel universe. It was the flight to an unknown paradise where one could have perpetual orgasm with 72 beautiful fresh woman slaves on an entirely new dimension.

But then we infer also the interaction of both forms of reincarnation with respect to inbreeding:

Assumption 157: The balance of power between earthly and parallel reincarnation is determined by the beauty of women. Smaller tribes give a smaller choice of attractive women. Hence, smaller tribes cause a greater desire for the parallel universe. What means that tribal endogamy in rural areas leads to a greater demand for the parallel universe than ethnic and religious endogamy, in which the variety of attractive women increases enormously. 

The connection between classical and operant conditioning

The conditioned stimulus (light) of Pavlov's dog can be seen as a secondary reinforcer in operant conditioning. In operant conditioning a secondary reinforcer would be not to reward with grains but with other food associated with grains. Higher order reinforcers are called also conditioned reinforcers.

Conclusion: In operant conditioning unconditioned stimuli (meat) are called: primary reinforcers. Conditioned stimuli (light) are called secondary reinforcers or conditioned reinforcers. Therefore, we can skip classical conditioning and confine ourselves to operant conditioning.

Just a final description:

Secondary reinforcement

Reincarnation is a form of magical immortality. In learning by association, magical immortality substitutes for genetic immortality. As said this process is called: secondary reinforcement.

In secondary reinforcement, a stimulus like reincarnation can be made reinforcing through association with other sorts of immortality, for example with a former reinforcing stimulus (look-alike offspring) by a process called: learning by association.

Higher reinforcers supplant primary reinforcers because they are better triggers of the operant response. With genetic immortality the individual dies, but with reincarnation he lives forever.


Some practice

Now we determined the foundations of human religion in three abstractions of immortality. Abstractions of increasing difficulty as formed in human evolution.

Next we want to evolve from genetic immortality to other forms of immortality (reincarnation). Then as a first step, we must see inbreeding as operant behavior what elicits genetic immortality (look-alike offspring) as a reward.

Operant response: inbreeding
Reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

Genetic immortality is a natural and primary reinforcer of inbreeding for first homininae who migrated in Africa. It is also the first abstraction of eternal life of 'humans'. The individual died but his genetic formula was copied as faithfully as possible into his offspring.

As a second step humans developed a stunning derivative of immortality. They invented a way to be dead and alive at the same time: waiting for reincarnation into the (earthly) universe.

Now we substitute the primary reinforcer by the secondary:

Operant response: inbreeding
Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring
Secondary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Hatched areas indicate the blurring border zones between eternal life and death:

Probably 200.000 years ago Homo sapiens discovered the third form of immortality: the parallel universe, our most stunning derailment of common sense.

Now we substitute the secondary reinforcer by the tertiary:

Operant response: inbreeding

Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

Secondary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Tertiary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the parallel universe

This is exactly how human religion works. Human religion is stamping in magical associations and stamping out the original causal relations. This process is called religious indoctrination. It is the substitution of fake relations for original causality, magical thinking for rationality.

By the way earthly reincarnation has never been overthrown by parallel reincarnation:

Assumption 145: tertiary reinforcement:

In secondary religion, human inbreeding developed as an operant

response followed by a reinforcing stimulus (of the expectation) of reincarnation into the parallel universe. Though parallel reincarnation is the competitor of earthly reincarnation it is not the instinctive reward for inbreeding:

Operant response: inbreeding

Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

Secondary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Tertiary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the parallel universe

Operant response: inbreeding

Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

Later reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Later reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the parallel universe

Assumption 155: Genetic immortality does not exist as a primary reinforcer of inbreeding any longer. Early in human evolution it has been set aside by earthly reincarnation as a secondary reinforcer. Meanwhile inbreeding has been connected to earthly reincarnation for 2 million years. This connection is the prevailing human instinct. Reincarnation into the parallel universe failed to overthrow earthly reincarnation. Hence both forms of reincarnation are reinforcers of inbreeding.

What have we done? We have applied the most proven psychological method of learning at religion. We found how some Muslims use (operate) inbreeding on their nieces and daughters to acquire... Yes, what are they acquiring? Wherefore is inbreeding? 'The honor of the family'? Any way, they are forbidden to acquire (earthly) reincarnation. That would be a mortal sin...

The tragedy is that millions of years later reincarnation into the (earthly) universe has been forbidden in Islamic culture. The Tawhid accepts only one God in heaven. From that moment inbreeding lost all significance besides "the prestige of the family".

Now we really start integrating our theory with operant conditioning:

Inbreeding and incest

Animals separated by natural barriers from their fellow species reproduce by inbreeding and incest. The same was true for the first East African homininae that migrated in little groups over long distances and were prevented from regular sexual contacts with others. 

Assumption 7: The first phase of human religion started as the search for eternal life by genetic reproduction through inbreeding and incest in the offspring. Man himself would die. It was partly a genetic monoculture.

Homininae must have perceived that forced saturation of their genes in the offspring led to a purer genetic projection in eternity, e.g. their children became better look-alikes:

Operant response: inbreeding
Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

(Forget about autosomal recessive disorders for the moment).

Inbreeding and incest started as an unconscious and an unintentional life style:  

Assumption 142: Classical conditioning: Human inbreeding started as an unconditioned stimulus followed by an unconditioned response of genetic immortality in the (earthly) universe. 

Inbreeding and incest developed as a conscious and intentional lifestyle: 

Assumption 143: Operant conditioning: Human inbreeding developed as an operant response followed by a reinforcing stimulus of genetic immortality in the (earthly) universe.

Reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Assumption 8: The second phase of human religion is the search for eternal life by reincarnation into the offspring and other living beings. Man attained eternal life as an individual. It depends on genetic diversity.

Assumption 9: Reincarnation into the offspring by inbreeding and incest is the third phase of human religion. It is partly a genetic monoculture.

Secondary reinforcement:

Operant response: inbreeding
Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring
Secondary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Assumption 144: Secondary reinforcement: In primary religion *, human inbreeding developed as an operant response followed by a reinforcing stimulus of (the expectation of) reincarnation into the (earthly) universe.

N.B. Reincarnation is much more attractive than genetic immortality, because the individual stays alive.

Reincarnation into the parallel universe

Assumption 13: Secondary religion concerns eternal life into the parallel universe by reincarnation into heaven. It consists of genetic variation. The reason for inbreeding and incest is senseless in the parallel universe. It is the fourth phase of human religion. Secondary religion sees women as subjects and it desexualizes religion.

Tertiary reinforcement (third order conditioning):

Operant response: inbreeding

Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

Secondary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Tertiary reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the parallel universe

Operant response: inbreeding

Primary reinforcing stimulus: genetic immortality in the offspring

Later reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the (earthly) universe

Later reinforcing stimulus: reincarnation into the parallel universe

Assumption 145: tertiary reinforcement:

In secondary religion, human inbreeding developed as an operant

response followed by a reinforcing stimulus (of the expectation) of reincarnation into the parallel universe. Though parallel reincarnation is the competitor of earthly reincarnation it is not the instinctive reward for inbreeding.

Interaction between Inbreeding and Reincarnation

This is how we will proceed in following articles. 

Assumption 4: Human religion is the search for eternal life.

We discriminate three growing abstractions of immortality in human evolution. Hence, development of human religion is constrained by the evolution of thinking. But then we are able to design the development of human religion:

Addendum:

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