I posted this in another derail thread but was hoping to get a let more conversation specific to this notion of "god did it" the placebo effect.

One relieves anxiety when one cannot explain a particular phenomenon by attributing it to god. It allows your brain to pretend it has found a way to explain said phenomenon so that it can forget about it and move on to the next obstacle. Unfortunately it's only a placebo relief, as, if said phenomenon does actually present a danger to the individual, one can be unready to meet the threat that has been filed away under "god did it". For a good example of this see global warming denial.

To say "god did it", is to say "I don't know what did it, but I want to pretend that I do." While it may be effective at reducing ones anxiety about the phenomenon, it does not allow one to accurately describe what is happening in reality, nor does it allow one to prepare for any imminent threat that may be hidden by the "god did it" placebo "explanation".

I disagree. There might be some instances where attributing thing to a god would increase anxiety. For example attributing volcano eruption to Pele would make people worried about appeasing Pele.

Ciarin wrote:I disagree. There might be some instances where attributing thing to a god would increase anxiety. For example attributing volcano eruption to Pele would make people worried about appeasing Pele.

It's an excellent point, but it still allows the person attributing the action to Pele to think he or she has a certain degree of "control". IE, they can pray, produce offerings, etc to appease Pele. When in reality, they are living at the base of an active volcano, so the attributing of the valcano's actions to a god allows them to think they understand what's happening, but doesn't allow them to take action against future threats by moving away from the base of an active volcano, nor does it allow them to understand what is happening in reality with said volcano.

I don't see it making anxiety go away though. It's like trying to appease an abusive husband, you still have to walk on egg shells.

Ciarin wrote:I don't see it making anxiety go away though. It's like trying to appease an abusive husband, you still have to walk on egg shells.

Certainly knowing what is actually going on would provide the most relief (as long as the person new to keep an eye out for warning signs of impending events/ moved away), but what I'm comparing here, is...

1) Saying that "Pele" is the cause of it, and if I pray or provide sacrifice I can impact the likely hood of it happening again

v

2) Having completely zero idea of what causes it, and living in constant fear that at any moment lava could rain down from the sky.

In that choice of scenarios, saying to onesself "god did it" does relieve anxiety as compared to the alternative of never knowing when lava could rain down.

I think that's more of an opinion. I wouldn't find the idea of a vengeful god any more relaxing than not knowing.

Ciarin wrote:I think that's more of an opinion. I wouldn't find the idea of a vengeful god any more relaxing than not knowing.

Again, the knowledge that you can have some control by praying or offering sacrifices is better than thinking that the lava raining from the skies is completely random, and could occur at anytime. In the later example one would have to spend every waking moment looking up to the sky, worried that they will be rained upon by lava. In the former, one can say a prayer, burn an animal, and feel safer.

NEITHER scenario is the ideal, however. That's because in BOTH cases, the person does not know what's going on in reality. If they did, they could know that molten earth comes out of the nearby mountain and that by moving away from the active volcano, they can avoid the lava rain completely (and without murdering any animals, to boot).

num1cubfn wrote:

Ciarin wrote:I think that's more of an opinion. I wouldn't find the idea of a vengeful god any more relaxing than not knowing.

Again, the knowledge that you can have some control by praying or offering sacrifices is better than thinking that the lava raining from the skies is completely random, and could occur at anytime.

Opinion.

Not everyone is going to find it any more comforting than not knowing.

Ciarin wrote:

num1cubfn wrote:

Ciarin wrote:I think that's more of an opinion. I wouldn't find the idea of a vengeful god any more relaxing than not knowing.

Again, the knowledge that you can have some control by praying or offering sacrifices is better than thinking that the lava raining from the skies is completely random, and could occur at anytime.

Opinion.

Not everyone is going to find it any more comforting than not knowing.

The second part that you left out was quite relevant to your reply, so I understand why you left it out.

num1cubfn wrote:In the later example one would have to spend every waking moment looking up to the sky, worried that they will be rained upon by lava. In the former, one can say a prayer, burn an animal, and feel safer.

I have to go, but I thank you for discussing it with me, and I'll be back later to pick back up where we left of, as I'm sure you'll have a reply. Thanks again, Ciarin. TTYL

P.S. I'll add, that if anyone DID feel less anxiety in the "random" view, they may well be a person who WOULDN'T consider it an act of god. But for those who found comfort in the notion of an appeasable god, they would have anxiety reduction and that's why they'd attribute the actions to a god... I'll be back.

No, it wasn't relevant, that's why it was left out.

num1cubfn wrote:I posted this in another derail thread but was hoping to get a let more conversation specific to this notion of "god did it" the placebo effect.

One relieves anxiety when one cannot explain a particular phenomenon by attributing it to god. It allows your brain to pretend it has found a way to explain said phenomenon so that it can forget about it and move on to the next obstacle. Unfortunately it's only a placebo relief, as, if said phenomenon does actually present a danger to the individual, one can be unready to meet the threat that has been filed away under "god did it". For a good example of this see global warming denial.

To say "god did it", is to say "I don't know what did it, but I want to pretend that I do." While it may be effective at reducing ones anxiety about the phenomenon, it does not allow one to accurately describe what is happening in reality, nor does it allow one to prepare for any imminent threat that may be hidden by the "god did it" placebo "explanation".

I think the idea is that the phenomenon in question is best explained by God's will. It's not as if the informed theist says, 'I don't know how x; therefore, god is the explanation for x.'