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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 200 EAN: 9780465006960 ISBN: 0465006965 Label: Basic Books Manufacturer: Basic Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 384 Publication Date: 2002-04 Publisher: Basic Books Release Date: April 30, 2002 Studio: Basic Books Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: What's it all about? Though we might never answer the really big questions--with good reason--maybe we can understand why we ask them. Cognitive anthropologist Pascal Boyer tackles this topic in the unapologetically titled Religion Explained, and it is sure to polarize his readers. Some will think it's an impermissible invasion of mental territory beyond the reach of reason; others will see it as the first step toward a more complete understanding of human nature--and Boyer is acutely aware of the emotionally charged nature of his work. This knowledge informs his decision to proceed without caution, as he warns readers early on that most will risk being offended by some of his considerations. Readers who can lay aside their biases will find great rewards here; Boyer's wide scholarship and knack for elegant writing are reasons enough for reading his book. That gods and spirits are construed very much like persons is probably one of the best-known traits of religion. Indeed, the Greeks had already noticed that people create gods in their own image.... All this is familiar, indeed so familiar that for a long time anthropologists forgot that this propensity requires an explanation. Why then are gods and spirits so much like humans? Peppering his study with examples from all over the world, particularly the Fang people of Africa, Boyer offers plenty of evidence for his theory that religious institutions exist to maintain particular threads of social integrity. Though he uses the tools of evolutionary psychology, he is more careful than most EP proponents to avoid ad hoc and circular arguments. Best of all, at least to those unmortified at the idea of examining religion critically, his theories are potentially testable. Even if he turns out to be dead wrong, at least Religion Explained offers a new and powerful framework for thinking about our spiritual lives. --Rob Lightner Product Description: Many of our questions about religion, says renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, are no longer mysteries. We are beginning to know how to answer questions such as "Why do people have religion?" Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Religion Explained shows how this aspect of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. This brilliant and controversial book gives readers the first scientific explanation for what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and where it comes from. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - MediocreThis book also continues the dubious tradition of ripping off compelling titles from more successful works & trying to bask in the reflected glory- i.e.- this book's title, & obsession with the brain- are direct descendents of philosopher Daniel C. Dennett's 1991 magnum opus Consciousness Explained. The difference is that that book's argument, & writing style, were far more successful than PB's. In fact, in this review I am not only going to dissect some of PB's arguments, but also his prose stylings. ... Read More Rating: - Religion inadequately ExplainedThis book is nicely presented but poorly written (or edited). Boyer's persistent ability to come to suspect conclusions made me put down this book before the second chapter. For example, on pages 20-21, he brushes off religion's capacity to provide comfort ("So much for religion as comfort") by citing American New Age mysticism, whose adherents "are not faced with war, famine mortality, incurable endemic diseases and arbitrary oppression to the same extent as Middle Age Europeans or present ... Read More Rating:  - Close... but ComputationalBook thesis: Religious concepts, notions, beliefs are the byproducts of useful evolutionary, cognitive systems. I missed a graduate class on "God" that featured this book, and after hearing all the buzz about how cool the seminar was I decided to buy it on my own. I have to say I was disappointed. Firstly, the book is printed missing pages. Pages 24-57 are missing from my copy, though a better printing probably exists. Secondly, Boyer (though I don't know he would say this) comes across as a ... Read More Rating: - Interesting ideas but Kindle edition has poor print quality.The Kindle edition has fuzzy print with parts of letters missing. The pages seem to take longer to turn than other Kindle books, and the footnotes don't work as links, so they're not very useable on Kindle. The ideas seem interesting; I wish the execution had been better. Check the sample to see if you can live with it before buying. Rating:  - Overuse of the word intuitionI was disappointed in the author's overuse of the word intuition. Especially since he did not define it in the book, and then he attached it to many other words and really overused it, ending up in the last chapter with 66 uses. I enjoyed the substantive content, but feel he deconstructed too much. His use of counterintuitive was also bothersome. I could not get beyond my own conception that intuition is something that feels an inspiratation from outside oneself, and therefore his use grated on me from ... Read More |
