Why is Snake Phobia Hardwired?
Today I saw an AP article written about a researcher at UVA who was looking at why humans typically have a fear of snakes. The question she asked herself was, “Where did that fear come from?” They did an experiment with 24 adults and 24 preschoolers that gives a logical conclusion that people do have an innate snake phobia. Her conclusion was “We have an evolutionary bias against snakes…”
I’d like to offer another possibility. I know that many of the people reading this won’t necessarily agree with my world view…that’s okay…just hear me out. (Side note: perhaps I need to put up a post about my world view…that could be a good discussion starter.)
Part of my world view involves taking a look at the part of the Bible called Genesis. Specifically at chapter 3 of Genesis. If you aren’t aware, Genesis chapters 1 and 2 talk about how God created everything. Chapter 3 then talks about how sin (think of it as wrongdoing) first entered creation…and the effect that sin had on creation. Part of that narrative is that Satan takes the form of a snake to deceive the first two humans. Jumping ahead to the middle of chapter 3, we read where God says to the snake, “You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies…”
So…it’s no surprise to me that humans typically have a snake phobia. God said we would.
Yeah, the researcher can postulate that it is based on “an evolutionary bias”. The writer of the AP article states that the researcher “believes it is because snakes would have posed a significant threat to our ancestors…”
Personally, I’m gonna believe that what Genesis has to say about it has more validity.
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