Why We Believe in God(s) A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith

by Thomson, J. Anderson; Aukofer, Clare; Dawkins, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780984493210
• ISBN10: 0984493212
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-01
• Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing

Summary

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.

Author Biography

J. Anderson Andy Thomson, Jr., MD, is a staff psychiatrist at the University of Virginia's Student Health Center and Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, and maintains a private practice of adult and forensic psychiatry. He serves as a trustee of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Clare Aukofer is a medical writer who has collaborated with Dr. Thomson on several projects.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 9
Preface	p. 15
Acknowledgments	p. 19
In the Beginning Was the Word: Our Propensity to Believe	p. 27
In the Image and Likeness: Evolution 101	p. 34
Our Daily Bread: Craving a Caretaker	p. 42
All That Is Seen and Unseen: Conceiving Souls	p. 50
Because the Bible Tells Me So: Believing in the Invisible	p. 54
And Deliver Us from Evil: Anthropomorphizing God(s)	p. 63
Thy Will Be Done: Submitting to the Law of God(s)	p. 73
Wherever Two or More of You Are Gathered: Harnessing Brain Chemistry through Ritual	p. 82
Oh Ye of Little Faith: Discovering the Physical Evidence of God(s) as By-product	p. 104
Lest Ye Be Judged: Educating Our Minds	p. 112
Notes	p. 117
Glossary	p. 142
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.