The Ark

Though we seem settled and our thoughts determined by preconceived directions and boundaries, we are, in fact, in constant mental conflict. As rational beings as well as evolved animals, our minds move in two often opposing directions -- the logical (mechanical) direction (which we revere, probably way too much) and the tribal (communal, emotional) direction (which we hold in contempt, but which we nevertheless adhere to with great passion and perseverance). In effect, we live in two entirely different worlds which must, even so, function efficiently together if we are to function effectively.
Our logical self is mostly mechanical in its contrivances, whereas our tribal self is based largely on instinctive reactions to situations. Both are shaped by the passing down of information (for our mechanical [dehumanized] self’s instruction) and of tradition (for our instinctive [communal] self’s enrichment). The shape of information creates a foundation on which more information can be built and by which the usefulness of articles that surround us can be determined. The structure grows and is refined from generation to generation, as is the usefulness and the effectiveness of our tools and weapons. The shape of tradition determines our culture, the things we value, and how we value ourselves, others, and our surroundings in general.
Our logical self drives us in the direction of hard facts and encourages us to become uncaring, cold and distant from those who care about us. We become mechanical, machine like, without emotion, no longer human. Our tribal self pulls us into an irrational, immediately gratifying, survival-only psychological mood -- animalistic. We strike out instinctively at those who offend us, become hedonistic, trust indiscriminately, kill when provoked. The constant conflict between these two tendencies (the balancing of the legal and the tribal [illegal, honor bound] that we experience every moment of our lives yet are unaware of) is what keeps us human.
Our legal self is our rational instinct, no different from any other survival skill but very effective in our struggle to survive and to dominate, and therefore highly prized by us even to the detriment of our other survival skills which we have developed over millions of years. We are pretty much squeezing our other survival instincts into submission and, over time, perhaps even into oblivion, leaving only our rational instinct driving us toward our ultimate destiny.
There are consequences to this. What will happen to poetry, music, introspection, dance, social intercourse? Can we remain human after our animal (so-called) instincts are no more? Do we want to be rational? I would suggest that it is just as important to our future survival to continue to develop our irrational nature as it is to continue to fine tune our rational self. The struggle between the two must continue, but it must be one of mutual respect rather than one of malicious and destructive self-degradation.
I’m going to be more specific. The current confrontation between science and religion is a perfect example of an inner turmoil gone bad. Our irrational (intuitive) nature (religion) has risen to challenge our rational (dehumanized) nature (science). Rather than define the struggle as a reaction to repression, however, religion has chosen to represent itself as being just as rational (scientific) as its perceived adversary. By doing so it has assured for itself an immediate emotional dominance, but ultimately a catastrophic failure because it simply does not have the rational resources to justify its claims. Only by accepting the truth of what it really is (irrational, intuitive) can religion guarantee its deserved place in the human experience.
Religion must be irrational if it is to be relevant. It is a relationship, an intuitive response, a feeling; it is not a fact in the scientific sense, but rather a fact in an emotional sense. There is no need to justify a relationship any more than there is to justify a feeling, an intuition. There does become a need for justification when our survival skills, no longer immediately necessary, are morphed into a determination to dominate; when religion -- whether Theist or Atheist -- moves beyond sharing intuitive awareness into a demand that a personal intuition be replicated in others. This initially creates confusion which leads to obfuscation and further confusion, making a mockery of the original authors of books considered holy (the Bible, the Koran, the Veda, etc.), and ultimately to the demise of religion as enrichment and the rise of religion as dehumanizing rules and regulations. Religion as inspiration is needed if the human race is to continue as...well... human.