Evolving brains, emerging gods : early humans and the origins of religion / E. Fuller Torrey.
"Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. E. Fuller Torrey draws on neuroscience research to propose an answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution."--Provided by the publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780231183369
- ISBN: 0231183364
- Physical Description: xv, 291 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Publisher: New York : Columbia University Press, [2017]
- Copyright: ©2017.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-277) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | The brain, home of the gods -- Part 1. The making of the gods. Homo habilis: a smarter self ; Homo erectus: an aware self ; Archaic Homo sapiens (Neandertals): an empathic self ; Early Homo sapiens: an introspective self ; Modern Homo sapiens: a temporal self -- Part 2. The emergence of the gods. Ancestors and agriculture: a spiritual self ; Governments and gods: a theistic self ; Other theories of the origins of gods. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Religion > Philosophy. Anthropology of religion. Brain > Evolution. |
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
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Gibsons Public Library | 200.1 TORR (Text) | 30886000695938 | Adult Nonfiction | Volume hold | Available | - |