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Why We Believe in God(s)

A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith
By Clare Aukofer and J. Anderson Thomson, Jr.
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Why We Believe in God(s) by J. Anderson Thomson, Jr. and Clare Aukofer explores the origins of religious belief through the lens of science and rational inquiry. Drawing on psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and evolutionary theory, the authors present a compelling argument that gods and religion are human constructs born from natural mental processes.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary science, and the rational examination of religion. It appeals to those curious about why humans form spiritual beliefs from a scientific perspective.

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Why We Believe In God(s) provides a brief and accessible guide to the exciting new discoveries that allow us to finally understand why and how the human mind generates, accepts, and spreads religious beliefs.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In this groundbreaking volume, J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD, with Clare Aukofer, offers a succinct yet comprehensive study of how and why the human mind generates religious belief. Dr. Thomson, a highly respected practising psychiatrist with credentials in forensic psychiatry and evolutionary psychology, methodically investigates the components and causes of religious belief in the same way any scientist would investigate the movement of astronomical bodies or the evolution of life over time—that is, as a purely natural phenomenon.

Providing compelling evidence from psychology, the cognitive neurosciences, and related fields, he, with Ms. Aukofer, presents an easily accessible and exceptionally convincing case that god(s) were created by man—not vice versa. With this slim volume, Dr. Thomson establishes himself as a must-read thinker and leading voice on the primacy of reason and science over superstition and religion.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780984493210

Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 July 2011

Country: United States

Imprint: Pitchstone Publishing

Illustration: Illustrations

Contributors:

  • Foreword by Richard Dawkins

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 120.0mm

Height: 177.0mm

Weight: 145g

Pages: 144

Collections

Clare Aukofer J. Anderson Thomson, Jr. Non-Fiction Religion & Spirituality Series: Jack Ryan, Jr.

About the Author

J. Anderson Thomson Jr., MD, is a staff psychiatrist at the University of Virginia's Student Health Center and Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy. He maintains a private practice of adult and forensic psychiatry and serves as a trustee of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Clare Aukofer is a medical writer and editor. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Richard Dawkins is an ethologist, an evolutionary biologist, and a writer. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was formerly University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science. Among his previous books are The Ancestor's Tale, The God Delusion, and The Selfish Gene.

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