what gives the early man believed in life after death
Answers
I would not claim they’re stupid. That invalidates the question by making a pretty unprovable assumption.
Most people believe in life after death for reasons that deserve being taken into account rather than implying they’re just not intelligent enough. And this applies to most irrational beliefs, I’d say.
First of all, of course, is the fear of death, the fear of ceasing to be. As far as we know, we are the only animal that knows that it will die. This imposes a burden on our lives which is not light and, for many, it’s unbearable. One way to deal with the ultimate catastrophe is denying it will happen, imagining that somehow it will be averted. This brings peace of mind to many.
In the same vein, the idea of the death of your children, friends, family, loved ones is also terrible, and also a good motivation to believe that they also will ultimately survive for all eternity.
Second, there is the problem of justice. In a world that is patently unfair, it’s not hard to imagine that somehow the Universe will be a final, reasonable and fair judge, that the evil will be ultimately punished and the good will be ultimately rewarded. This of course implies being blind to the fact that the only source of justice in the Universe seems to be… us. We’re not very good at it, and we progress slowly, so thinking about a final supernatural destiny is also quite comforting to many.
Third, people tend to believe what they’re taught as children. In a world where education for critical reason, relentless questioning, demanding evidence and doubting with rigor are sadly absent, most people find no reason to put their beliefs to any test. They carry on because it was good enough for their forebears.
Fourth, it makes people feel loved by a higher, absolute power. It implies that they are important, relevant, the reason for the Universe to be, and thus is a good anaesthetic to the uncomfortable idea that we’re a lucky accident.
I’m sure there are many other reasons, but stupidity is hardly one of them. The idea that we unbelievers are morally and intellectually superior to believers is a very dangerous proposition. We are lucky people who have stumbled upon opportunities to think and question, who have found a way to infuse our lives with purpose and to accept our fate without recourse to the supernatural. That is fine, and it might even in turn make us responsible for educating and supporting others in order to free them from beliefs that in the end are harmful, toxic and dehumanizing. But it does not make us automatically better nor smarter.
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