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Mar. 31st, 2005 02:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sophiaserpentiaSo far, I am truly enjoying Religion Explained by Pascal Boyer. It's one of the most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time.
The author begins by examining some of the popular explanations for the existence of religion and explaining why they fall short.
The first 'explanation' he examines is the assertion that religion exists to explain puzzling phenomena. He points out, though, that anthropologists have found that cultures do not express the same degree of urgency for explaining mysteries or calamaties in general, though they will often seek explanations for particular calamities. Also, people understand the difference between religious and "naturalistic" explanations for things; religion provides certain kinds of answers which the human mind is predisposed to find plausible. He writes,
Then he takes on the idea that religion exists because humans need a spiritual security blanket. To this, he writes,
He also takes on the idea of religion as a social glue and promoter of morality. He points out that religions with widely-varying beliefs nonetheless have nearly identical moral codes. The "social mind" appears to be something in each person which comes "factory-installed" -- that is, we are born with faculties that direct the ways in which we form societies and interact with one another.
Another point made in the first chapter is that the diversity of religious teaching does not, in itself, cause problems for his goal of explaining how all of it has a biological origin. While religious beliefs vary quite a bit, religious doctrine as a whole covers a particular well-defined province regarding supernatural existence.
The author begins by examining some of the popular explanations for the existence of religion and explaining why they fall short.
The first 'explanation' he examines is the assertion that religion exists to explain puzzling phenomena. He points out, though, that anthropologists have found that cultures do not express the same degree of urgency for explaining mysteries or calamaties in general, though they will often seek explanations for particular calamities. Also, people understand the difference between religious and "naturalistic" explanations for things; religion provides certain kinds of answers which the human mind is predisposed to find plausible. He writes,
The mind does not work like one general "let's review the facts and get an explanation" device. Rather, it comprises lots of specialized explanatory devices, more properly called inference systems, each of which is adapted to particular kinds of events and automatically suggests explanations for these events. (p. 17, emphasis in original)
Then he takes on the idea that religion exists because humans need a spiritual security blanket. To this, he writes,
Religious concepts, if they are solutions to particular emotional needs, are not doing a very good job. A religious world is often every bit as terrifying as a world without supernatural presence, and many religions create not so much reassurance as a thick pall of gloom. ... Reassuring religion, insofar as it exists, is not found in places where life is significantly dangerous or unpleasant; quite the opposite. ... Note that [the reassuring teachings of New Age] appeared and spread in one of the most secure and affluent societies in history. (p. 20)
He also takes on the idea of religion as a social glue and promoter of morality. He points out that religions with widely-varying beliefs nonetheless have nearly identical moral codes. The "social mind" appears to be something in each person which comes "factory-installed" -- that is, we are born with faculties that direct the ways in which we form societies and interact with one another.
Another point made in the first chapter is that the diversity of religious teaching does not, in itself, cause problems for his goal of explaining how all of it has a biological origin. While religious beliefs vary quite a bit, religious doctrine as a whole covers a particular well-defined province regarding supernatural existence.
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Date: 2005-04-01 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-05 08:56 pm (UTC)