Robin Dunbar

How Religion Evolved (eBook, ePUB)

And Why It Endures

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

A fascinating analysis of the evolution of religion from the internationally renowned evolutionary psychologist

When did humans develop spiritual thought? What is religion's evolutionary purpose? And in our increasingly secular world, why has it endured?

Every society in the history of humanity has lived with religion. In How Religion Evolved, evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar tracks its origins back to what he terms the 'mystical stance' - the aspect of human psychology that predisposes us to believe in a transcendent world, and which makes an encounter with the spiritual possible. As he explores world religions and their many derivatives, as well as religions of experience practised by hunter-gatherer societies since time immemorial, Dunbar argues that this instinct is not a peculiar human quirk, an aberration on our otherwise efficient evolutionary journey. Rather, religion confers an advantage: it can benefit our individual health and wellbeing, but, more importantly, it fosters social bonding at large scale, helping hold fractious societies together. Dunbar suggests these dimensions might provide the basis for an overarching theory for why and how humans are religious, and so help unify the myriad strands that currently populate this field.

Drawing on path-breaking research, clinical case studies and fieldwork from around the globe, as well as stories of charismatic cult leaders, mysterious sects and lost faiths, How Religion Evolved offers a fascinating and far-reaching analysis of this quintessentially human impulse - to believe.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Penguin Books Ltd
• Seitenzahl: 352
• Erscheinungstermin: 7. April 2022
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780241431801
• Artikelnr.: 61130318

Autorenporträt

Robin Dunbar is an Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford. His most recent publications include Evolution: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) and Human Evolution: Our Brains and Behavior.

Rezensionen

Stimulating and hugely ambitious... A compelling intellectual workout. Dunbar offers a powerful central argument, an excellent survey of alternative theories and a wide range of vivid and illuminating examples... The story he tells is important to us all Matthew Reisz Observer