Creationism as a mental illness
In Cockney rhyming slang, the word ‘believe' is represented by ‘Adam
and Eve'. When faced with something baffling, shocking or plain
peculiar, you might use the rhetorical expression, ‘Would you Adam and
Eve it?' It's ironic, then, that one of the great debates of the day is
about the literal truth of the bible story; or in other words, the
extent to which we should Adam and Eve in Adam and Eve.
It's a question not just of belief but of denial. The phrase ‘in
denial' has become so commonplace it's hard to still hear its power. In
common with the ostrich which, as danger approaches, buries its head in
the sand, those who are ‘in denial' prefer a false but subjective sense
of security to a true but objectively scary reality. Denial brings short
term, if illusory, comfort.
Hence creationism, the theory/
superstition
that, contrary to massive scientific evidence, the world began exactly
as described in the Book of Genesis. Instead of deriving from millions
of years of patient evolution, Adam and Eve popped out, fully formed,
like characters from a Swiss cuckoo clock. Would you Adam and Eve it? Of
course not. It's a myth, but like many myths it serves a psychological
purpose which is to provide a storybook sense of simple origins, which
allays people's fears. Those who believe this myth to be the truth are
in a state of denial.
Along with denial, two other factors connect creationism with mental
illness. The first is psychosis, which is an extension of denial. If
psychosis is marked by the discrepancy between one's personal view of
the world and the consensual view, creationism holds onto the personal
view at all costs, refusing to accept what is abundantly clear. True, if
creationism became the majority view, its psychotic character might be
mitigated. Except that this majority view would have no more valence
than the belief so widely held about the relationship between the sun
and the earth before Copernicus proved how the latter orbits the former,
and not vice versa.
Finally, creationism shares with
autism
an alleged lack of ability for irony. Creationists take the bible story
as literally true, unable to recognise that it might be working on
those other, mythic levels.
If tests for madness include talking to yourself and looking for
hairs on the palm of your hand, then here's another: do you Adam and Eve
in Adam and Eve?
Robert Rowland Smith is the author of 'Breakfast with Socrates: an
Extraordinary (Philosophical) Journey Through your Ordinary Day' (Free
Press).
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