Wade, Nicholas,
The faith instinct : how religion evolved and why it endures / Nicholas Wade. - 310 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index (pages 301-310).
A New York Times science reporter makes a startling new case that religion has an evolutionary basis. For the last 50,000 years, and probably much longer, people have practiced religion. Yet little attention has been given to the question of whether this universal human behavior might have been implanted in human nature. In this original and thought-provoking work, Nicholas Wade traces how religion grew to be so essential to early societies in their struggle for survival, how an instinct for faith became hardwired into human nature, and how it provided an impetus for law and government. The Faith Instinct offers an objective and nonpolemical exploration of humanity's quest for spiritual transcendence.
9780143118190 9781594202285
Religion --Philosophy.
BL51 / .W133 2009
The faith instinct : how religion evolved and why it endures / Nicholas Wade. - 310 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index (pages 301-310).
A New York Times science reporter makes a startling new case that religion has an evolutionary basis. For the last 50,000 years, and probably much longer, people have practiced religion. Yet little attention has been given to the question of whether this universal human behavior might have been implanted in human nature. In this original and thought-provoking work, Nicholas Wade traces how religion grew to be so essential to early societies in their struggle for survival, how an instinct for faith became hardwired into human nature, and how it provided an impetus for law and government. The Faith Instinct offers an objective and nonpolemical exploration of humanity's quest for spiritual transcendence.
9780143118190 9781594202285
Religion --Philosophy.
BL51 / .W133 2009