The evolution of an enigmatic human trait: false beliefs due to pseudo-solution traps

In this essay I ask why it is so common for people to hold strong beliefs despite insufficient evidence to justify them. I approach this question from an evolutionary perspective of ultimate causation rather than a neurophysiological perspective of proximate causation. Beginning with simple optical illusions, I use a progression of examples to argue that humans are programmed to form false beliefs due to (i) intrinsic errors of intuition and, more importantly, (ii) a propensity to accept intuitively compelling beliefs without sufficient evidence when they appear to provide solutions to problems that cannot be solved with available knowledge. The formation of these false beliefs and their persistence constitute a phenomenon I call a pseudo-solution trap. I show that these mental traps are especially prevalent in the area of medicine. I end by showing that pseudo-solution traps are expected to feasibly lead to a belief in the supernatural, including an afterlife and one or more deities.