O animal religioso: a emergência da excepcionalidade humana de pensar religião

Abstract

This dissertation investigated the exceptional human capacity to conceive religion from a biological and evolutionary perspective. An interdisciplinary methodological approach was adopted, integrating contributions from neuroscience, archaeology, biological anthropology, and philosophical reflections on the nature of religiosity. The research demonstrates that, although the human brain is not the largest among animals, it possesses the highest number of neurons in the cerebral cortex, a characteristic unprecedented in other species. This elevated number of neurons became viable thanks to the development of cooking with fire, an exclusively human practice that enabled the maximization of caloric absorption from food, surpassing the energetic limits imposed by raw diets. The cerebral cortex is the region responsible for functions such as language, planning, decision-making, abstract thinking, and strategic elaboration — skills that enable large-scale and highly flexible social cooperation, which was decisive for the evolutionary success of the human species. This cognitive complexity also allowed for the emergence of religion, understood here as a manifestation of abstract thought. In dialogue with the philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach, it is argued that religion is a symbolic construction resulting from the projection of human desires, fears, and ideals, reflecting the very essence of humanity. This articulation of factors provides a naturalistic and materialistic explanation for the emergence of religious thought, distancing itself from supernatural conceptions and situating the human being as a primate that, throughout its evolution, developed unique cognitive capacities allowing it to think beyond the physical world. Thus, this study contributes to strengthening the dialogue between the biological sciences and the sciences of religion, highlighting the importance of integrated approaches to understanding human nature.