Find food, have sex, not die. That’s pretty much all we need to do — but why do we make it so complicated?

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What is the capacity for belief in humans, and how does it shape our lives and interactions with the world? According to Agustin Fuentes, a professor of anthropology at Princeton University and author of ‘Why We Believe, Evolution and the Human Way of Being,’ the human capacity for belief is the most significant trait that sets us apart from other animals.

This capacity for belief, which importantly is not limited to religious belief, allows us to take our experiences and turn them into ideologies, lifestyles, and perceptions that we can commit to fully — thereby shaping our reality and the reality of future generations.

At its core, Fuentes explains, human belief is rooted in, and contingent on, our evolutionary history. Unlike other mammals, human infants are born with brains that are just 40% of their adult size. This extended childhood allows for constant social and environmental influence, which become the fabric of our being; beliefs even influence our biological make-up, from our gut microbiome to our hormones.

Read the full video transcript: https://bigthink.com/the-well/evoluti...

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