The book What Have You Changed Your Mind About? has an essay by Lee Silver that explores the idea of irrationality. He begins by recounting a statement made by Francis Crick to the effect that we as human beings will grow past irrational beliefs, i.e. that we have souls that survive our deaths.

Silver recounts a story of having a long debate with someone, both of them confident that one more round of debate would finally change the other person’s mind. It of course did not happen that way.

Silver concludes:

Much to my chagrin, even after politics, ideology, economics and other cultural issues have been put aside, there is often a refusal to accept scientific implications of rational argumentation.

While its mode of expression may change over cultures and time, irrationality and mysticism seem to be an integral part of normal human nature, even among highly highly educated people. no matter what scientific and technological advances are made in the future. I now doubt supernatural beliefs will ever be eradicated from the human species.

There does seem to be something in our human psyche – IIRC Sartre called it a god shaped hole – that calls out for something bigger, some sense of order outside ourselves. The human mind seems to organize information into systemic structures – we seem instinctively to seek order and explanations. We don’t like to let go and we misremember, mishear, and misunderstand more easily than any of us cares to believe. The irrational – belief in demons, angels, ghosts, gods, magic, supernatural forces – has been with us a long time, not because we’re stupid but because such things fill the gap that is the darkness of unknowing.