{"product_id":"faces-in-the-clouds-stewart-elliott-guthrie-9780195098914","title":"Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion","description":"Religion is universal human culture. No phenomenon is more widely shared or more intensely studied, yet there is no agreement on what religion is. Now, in \u003cem\u003eFaces in the Clouds\u003c\/em\u003e, anthropologist Stewart Guthrie provides a provocative definition of religion in a bold and persuasive new theory.\u003cbr\u003e Guthrie says religion can best be understood as systematic anthropomorphism--that is, the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman things and events. Many writers see anthropomorphism as common or even universal in religion, but few think it is central. To Guthrie, however, it is fundamental. Religion, he writes, consists of seeing the world as humanlike.\u003cbr\u003e As Guthrie shows, people find a wide range of humanlike beings plausible: Gods, spirits, abominable snowmen, HAL the computer, Chiquita Banana. We find messages in random events such as earthquakes, weather, and traffic accidents. We say a fire \"rages,\" a storm \"wreaks vengeance,\" and waters \"lie still.\" Guthrie says that our tendency to find human characteristics in the nonhuman world stems from a deep-seated perceptual strategy: in the face of pervasive (if mostly unconscious) uncertainty about what we see, we bet on the most meaningful interpretation we can. If we are in the woods and see a dark shape that might be a bear or a boulder, for example, it is good policy to think it is a bear. If we are mistaken, we lose little, and if we are right, we gain much. So, Guthrie writes, in scanning the world we always look for what most concerns us--livings things, and especially, human ones. Even animals watch for human attributes, as when birds avoid scarecrows. In short, we all follow the principle--better safe than sorry.\u003cbr\u003e Marshalling a wealth of evidence from anthropology, cognitive science, philosophy, theology, advertising, literature, art, and animal behavior, Guthrie offers a fascinating array of examples to show how this perceptual strategy pervades secular life and how it characterizes religious experience. Challenging the very foundations of religion, \u003cem\u003eFaces in the Clouds\u003c\/em\u003e forces us to take a new look at this fundamental element of human life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stewart Elliott Guthrie\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195098919\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195098914\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/06\/1995\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.19lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.22h x 6.12w x 0.97d","brand":"Stewart Elliott Guthrie","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44138391929087,"sku":"9780195098914","price":98.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_99a6746d-62d0-4278-a155-0886f2c4def2.jpg?v=1687899405","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/faces-in-the-clouds-stewart-elliott-guthrie-9780195098914","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}