Nature did shape us for the most part, but the Anthropocene marks a break, and there were earlier breaks too, such as the advents of behavioural modernity and of city-states and civilizations.

There may be character differences that attract us to or repel us from experiences of the numinous. I'm more interested in the philosophical question of whether atheism or naturalism entails pantheism. I'll be writing directly on that question soon. I take it you're not on board with that line of argument. We'll see how far I can push it, though.

In speaking of science, I used to speak of "technoscience," meaning science's role in modern industry. Science as a whole isn't divorced from business and political pressures. The funding issues alone enmesh scientists in social pursuits.

One of the fundamental social pursuits, I argue, is the existential rebellion against the monstrous wilderness in the name of humanistic faith in the preciousness of our emergence. That's a point about a functional role, not the intentions of individual scientists. We're often unknowing dupes in how we operate within larger systems and processes.