Overview

Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely seen as potentially constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. The Believing Primate aims to describe and discuss these scientific accounts as well as to assess their implications. The volume begins with essays by leading scientists in the field, describing these accounts and discussing evidence in their favour. Philosophical and theological reflections on these accounts follow, offered by leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This diverse group of scholars address some fascinating underlying questions: Do scientific accounts of religion undermine the justification of religious belief? Do such accounts show religion to be an accidental by-product of our evolutionary development? And, whilst we seem naturally disposed toward religion, would we fare better or worse without it? Bringing together dissenting perspectives, this provocative collection will serve to freshly illuminate ongoing debate on these perennial questions.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jeffrey Schloss (Professor of Biology, Westmont College) ,  Michael Murray (Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor in the Humanities and Philosophy, Franklin and Marshall College)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.594kg
ISBN:  

9780199597086

ISBN 10:   0199597081
Pages:   380
Publication Date:   07 October 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Jeffrey Schloss: Introduction 1: Jesse Bering and Dominic Johnson: Hand of God, Mind of Man: Punishment and Cognition in the Evolution of Cooperation 2: Joseph Bulbulia: Religiosity as mental time travel: cognitive adaptations for religious behavior 3: Justin Barrett: Cognitive Science, Religion & Theology 4: Peter J. Richerson and Lesley Newson: Is Religion Adaptive? Yes, no, neutral, but mostly we don't know 5: Paul Bloom: Religious Belief as an Evolutionary Accident 6: Peter van Inwagen: Explaining Belief in the Supernatural: Some thoughts on Paul Bloom's 'Religious Belief as Evolutionary Accident' 7: Alvin Plantinga: Games Scientists Play 8: Michael J. Murray: Scientific Explanations of Religion and the Justification of Religious Belief 9: Michael J. Murray and Andrew Goldberg: Evolutionary Accounts of Religion: Explaining and Explaining Away 10: Charles Taliaferro: Explaining Religious Experience 11: Del Ratzsch: Humanness in their hearts: Where science and religion fuse 12: John Haught: Theology and Evolution: How Much Can Biology Explain 13: Nancey Murphy: Cognitive Science and the Evolutionof Religion: A Philosophical and Theological Appraisal 14: Christian Smith: Does Naturalism Warrant a Moral Belief in Universal Benevolence and Human Rights? 15: Jonathan Haidt: Moral Psychology and the Misunderstanding of Religion 16: David Sloan Wilson: Evolutionary Social Constructivism: Narrowing (but not yet bridging) the Gap

Reviews

it is impossible in a short review to do justice to these diverse treasures... this is a volume of welcome breadth and depth and is a must-read for anyone deeply interested in current science-and-religion issues. K. Helmut Reich, ESSAT News

it is impossible in a short review to do justice to these diverse treasures... this is a volume of welcome breadth and depth and is a must-read for anyone deeply interested in current science-and-religion issues. * K. Helmut Reich, ESSAT News *

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