The Believing Primate Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections on the Origin of Religion

by Schloss, Jeffrey; Murray, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780199557028
• ISBN10: 0199557020
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

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 as constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. The Believing Primate aims to describe anddiscuss 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 leadingphilosophers, 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.

Author Biography

Michael Murray is the Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor in the Humanities and Philosophy at Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA). He received his B.A. at Franklin & Marshall College, and his M.A, and Ph.D at the University of Notre Dame. He has held fellowships from the Institute for Research in the Humanities (Madison, Wisconsin), the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, and the Notre Dame Center for Philosophy of Religion.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Hand of God, Mind of Man: Punishment and Cognition in the Evolution of Cooperation

Religiosity as mental time travel: cognitive adaptations for religious behavior

Cognitive Science, Religion and Theology

Is Religion Adaptive? Yes, no, neutral, but mostly we don't know

Religious Belief as an Evolutionary Accident

Explaining Belief in the Supernatural: Some thoughts on Paul Bloom's 'Religious Belief as Evolutionary Accident'

Games Scientists Play

Scientific Explanations of Religion and the Justification of Religious Belief

Evolutionary Accounts of Religion: Explaining and Explaining Away

Explaining Religious Experience

Humanness in their hearts: Where science and religion fuse

Theology and Evolution: How Much Can Biology Explain

Cognitive Science and the Evolutionof Religion: A Philosophical and Theological Appraisal

Does Naturalism Warrant a Moral Belief in Universal Benevolence and Human Rights?

Moral Psychology and the Misunderstanding of Religion

Evolutionary Social Constructivism: Narrowing (but not yet bridging) the Gap

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