Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.30 (725 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0984493212 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-03-21 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
One by one the components of religion receive the Thomson treatment. Andy Thomson is an outstandingly persuasive lecturer, and it shines through his writing. "This book about the evolutionary drivers of religiosity would have delighted Darwin. This short, punchy book will be swiftly read—and long remembered."—Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, from the foreword of Why We Believe in God(s). Every point he makes has the ring of truth, abetted by a crisp style and vivid imagery
Providing compelling evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, and related fields, he, with Ms. Dr. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD, with Clare Aukofer, offers a succinct yet comprehensive study of how and why the human mind generates religious belief. With this slim volume, Dr. Thomson, a highly respected practicing psychiatrist with credentials in forensic psychiatry and evolutionary psychology, methodically investigates the components and causes of religious belief in the same way any scientist would investigate the movement of astronomical bodies or the evolution of life over time—that is, as a purely natural phenomenon. Aukofer, presents an easily accessible and exceptionally convincing case that god(s) were created by man—not vice versa. In this groundbreaking volume, J. Thomson establishes himself as a must-read thinker and leading voice on the primacy of reason and science over superstition and religion.
Incomplete but interesting Jack D. Eller Thomson's tiny book (114 miniature pages) is a commendable introduction to the emerging science of religion. Those who are unfamiliar with the new convergence of psychology, biology, and anthropology in evolutionary-cognitive theory will find the book useful for getting them started on the subject. (Those already familiar with the much more substantial treatments of Boyer, Atran, Guthrie, Kirkpatrick, de Waal, and others will not learn anything new here.) The book suffers from its very brevity: for instance, in the discussion of human evolution in chapter 2, no dates or descriptions are included with the names of various sp. An excellent introduction to the field This book summarizes the scientific research that explains the human inclination to create divinity. It is not a defense of atheism, but rather shows what science has to say about the various modules and capacities that humans have developed over the millenia that lend themselves to the generation and embrace of religious explanations. Although the authors make it clear that they are not people of faith, the book is not an attack on faith so much as an account of why people might believe, other than "because it's true." Very current in terms of the literature, well written, and thus a good portal for someone seeking to lear. The Evolutionary Mechanism of Belief The Evolutionary Mechanism of BeliefWhat this book is:This is a great introduction into the idea of religion as the by-product of our evolutionary development. It does not ridicule religion as something that only the foolish follow; it instead gives a reason why so many people naturally fall into the prevailing religions of their areas. It does assume that the people who are reading the book can get over the assumption that evolution is a scientific fact which will really only turn off those who would not get a lot out of the book in the first place.What this book is not:This is not any sort of direct confrontation of any o