Evolutionary “scientists,” of all stripes, believe that everything, in all of reality, can be accounted for by naturalistic evolution. Evolutionary biologists, for instance, believe the variety of life forms on earth can be accounted for by natural evolutionary change over time. But it is not just those who work in the natural sciences. Evolutionary anthropologists and sociologists, indeed all social scientists who believe in naturalistic philosophy, also believe that every aspect of human life and society can be accounted for by evolutionary change over time. In fact, the very concept of social science itself, as it is taught in most schools, is an attempt to use and the scientific method, guided by naturalistic philosophy, to analyze things that cannot be proven using the scientific method.
Agustín Fuentes is an American primatologist and biological anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame. The focus of his work lies in research regarding human and non-human primate interaction, pathogen transfer, communication, cooperation, and human social evolution. In one of his recent articles, he tried to demonstrate, using naturalistic evolutionary philosophy, how the human animal evolved the capacity for “belief,” then used that ability to advance his position in the world. (You can read the article for yourself at: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-did-belief-evolve).
Fuentes begins with the naturalistic premise that human beings are nothing more than natural animals that, over time, developed a more complex brain than any other natural animal (a belief he shares with every other evolutionary scientist). Contemplating man’s use of this more highly evolved brain, Fuentes begins making assumptions about how the human species began to use this greater brain capacity to acquire more complex knowledge and skills. He contends that as the human brain gradually evolved over time, homo sapiens eventually became capable of thinking abstractly. They then began using this abstract thinking ability to ultimately get to the place where they could believe things that could not be accounted for using empirical means. The result was the use of the imagination to invent better tools and technologies, develop more complex social behaviors, and even invent religions. In his mind, all of these things were the result of a natural evolutionary process.
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