Dr. David DeSteno

Left-handed traditions, they're the quick and easy way, right?

So rather than learn the practice, you can take the drug and get there as well.

And so what's interesting to me is that they're both roots and religions themselves, even outside of the chemicals, have a way for those who want to follow it to gain this transcendent experience.

But they're always a little more worried about the left-hand routes for the reasons you're saying because they don't have the practice and the guidance long-term and they can go badly for people and lead you to problematics.

I can see people interpreting as demonic influences.

There's a lot there.

So first, the question of why do I think religions think about it as outside of us?

So one of the things I teach is moral psychology.

Why do people do good or bad?

And what the data has shown us over the past few decades is that people's moral behavior is a lot more variable than anyone would ever predict.

And because of that, because most people like to think of ourselves as good people, when we do something wrong that's objectifiably wrong, we feel like something came over us, right?

And so it's easy to say there is an evil force outside that was guiding me.

What we're learning now is that a lot of moral processing within the brain happens kind of below your conscious awareness.

And I'll give you an example of that in a minute.

So it feels like it's coming over us.

So therefore, maybe it's some other force.

But the point you raise is a good one, right?

We did not evolve to be saints.

We did not evolve to be sinners.

We evolved to be adaptive, right?