The Evolution of Religion & Creativity
Presented by
David Kydd, PhD
Friday, 8:00 PM, January 26th, 2007
In the eyes of science, humans create the idea that gods create humans. Contemporary models for the origin of religion estimate it arising anywhere from 200,000 to 35,000 years ago. This presentation will survey these models and their supporting evidence, then explain in detail the most plausible scenario. Colorful slides from classical Greece, ancient Egypt, and an Australian aboriginal society will illustrate how the revolutionary “technology” of religious behavior combines the rigid metal of tradition with the volatile liquid of altered states (dream or trance) to generate human brilliance. Finally, we will consider how each of us can apply, irrespective of personal religious outlook, this ‘gift of the gods.’
David Kydd, PhD is a Jungian Analyst (Diplomate, Zurich 1998) with a private practice in Brentwood. He is a member of UCLA’s Brain, Evolution, and Culture group and has lectured on the evolution of religion to academic and Jungian audiences here and abroad.