Friedrich August von Hayek about the Evolution of Religion
Friedrich August von Hayek (1899 - 1992) was one of the most prominent economists of the 20th century, scientifically taking a stand for liberalism and fighting nationalistic and internationalistic versions of socialism in Europe and abroad since his eminent "Road to Serfdom" (1944). Here is a nice "economy-rap", depicting the debates between him and (students of) John Maynard Keynes (1883 - 1946). Please note their trainers Ludwig von Mises (1881 - 1973) and Thomas Robert Malthus (1766 - 1834), as well as appearances of Ben Bernanke and Carl Levin. Enjoy the show.
F.A. von Hayek as an Evolutionist
Far less known than Hayeks image as a free-market-economist is the root of his scientific perspectives and arguments: Evolution. Coming from an Austrian family deeply embedded in natural sciences as well as philosophy (i.e. he served together with his nephew Wittgenstein in the army and read the first drafts of the tractatus) Hayek urged his fellow economists to study real humans instead of the "spectre" of homo oeconomicus.
In 1952 he published "The Sensory Order" about the evolution of human perception, preceding contemporary works on neurocognition and evolutionary psychology by decades.
F.A. von Hayek about the Evolution of Religion
In his last decade, the professing agnostic Hayek turned to the subject of religion and started to explore it from his evolutionary perspective. Personally, I would count his German lecture of 1982 about the topic at Klessheim castle and his final chapter "Religion and the Guardians of Tradition" in his final book "The Fatal Conceit" (1991) among the most important works in this field and time. For example, he rightfully observed the reproductive potential of religious groups.
Of course, you should find out for yourself! But if you were interested for a start, I discussed and tested some of his hypotheses here:
"Von Hayek and the Amish Fertility. How religious communities manage to be fruitful and multiply. A Case study", in: Frey, Ulrich (Hrsg.), "The Nature of God - Evolution and Religion", Tectum Verlag Marburg 2010
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The evidence that the cultural behaviour that we call 'religiosity' has been adaptive over recent decades is very strong. I suggest that this has probably been the case over the whole evolutionary history of Homo sapiens.
If this is correct, it would account for the precocious religiosity of the very young that has been reported by several researchers in this area. Foe example, Justin Barrett and Deborah Keleman. But if innate religiosity can indeed be detected, it must be genetically mediated; ie, it's coded into the genes in some way. How does behaviour, however adaptive, get into the genes?
My answer, as some of you may know, is a process I call Genetic Priming. For a fuller explanation please select "The Genetic Priming ---" from the menu of "Top Read Posts" in the right-hand column.