Having said that, I actually agree with both yourself and Steve that it can be difficult to describe those "soulful" experiences and intuitions that we all have, without using religious language. We'll have to keep inventing some.

I would not call this spiritual, because you have not introduced any supernatural element into this feeling of connectedness.

I don't regard spirituality as requiring the supernatural; in my mind all it requires is a spirit -- or soul, if you prefer -- which I regard as an emergent property of our prodigiously complex brains. Thus, this connectedness is indeed spiritually satisfying, to me.

I love the Dysonian idea of the Universe pondering itself.

All this brings us in danger of reifying "Evolution," and reading therein that which we wish to find. In that case, yes, we will have circled back to that place in our minds from which all religions spring.

Yes, difficult one this. We all know what it means to feel spiritual, and sometimes describing this aspect of ourselves without resorting to "religious" language is all but impossible. This I guess is because religion has seconded all such internal experience to its cause and left the infidel with nowhere to turn.

p.s where has the preview gone in I.E, it works fine on Safari.

Actually, I do derive some spirituality from evolution

Would it be a total misreading of your comment to suggest that what you derive is, as you say, a satisfying feeling of connectedness, and that you derive it from your specific understanding and interpretation of evolution? I would not call this spiritual, because you have not introduced any supernatural element into this feeling of connectedness. Such a feeling of connectedness, to me, is extremely natural. You have found your place in the natural order of things.

However, I note again that John Nernoff (#42) would seem to derive many other less possitive feelings from his specific understanding and interpretation of evolution. One could say, he derives some "diabolity," from it.

All this brings us in danger of reifying "Evolution," and reading therein that which we wish to find. In that case, yes, we will have circled back to that place in our minds from which all religions spring.

I think evolution should be supplemented with a kind of liberating spirituality -- that liberates and enlighten minds to free people from the mythical sin/salvation/heaven/hell thing -

In fact there are lots of "liberating spiritualities" out there - if you want to look at the New Age showcase of "spiritualities" crystals, Buddhism, Native American shamanism - etc. Take your pick - all very spiritual, all very comforting and a lot freer of sin/salvation/heaven/hell than Christianity.

But these could never "supplement" evolution. Evolution is simply an explanation (consistent with all known relevant facts), of what actually happened. It is not something that gives comfort (as you may appreciate from John Nernoff's comment at #42) or enlightens anyone or even liberates their minds. It simply explains an aspect of reality as it is, and as it was. It is what it is, and it has nothing to do with spirituality of any kind.

So the scenario is simple, as long as human dreaded the reality of impermenance and life is not always blissful and sometimes full of misfortune, not to mention the unknown (dreaded unknown) of death.

I think evolution should be supplemented with a kind of liberating spirituality -- that liberates and enlighten minds to free people from the mythical sin/salvation/heaven/hell thing - or else we are not doing enough to draw them away from this mind-eating religiosity