Religion as Magical Ideology: How the Supernatural Reflects Rationality (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781844656448)

'Religion as Magical Ideology' examines the relationship between rationality and supernatural beliefs arguing that such beliefs are products of evolution, cognition and culture. The book does not offer a false rapprochement between reason and religion; instead, it explores their interrelationship as a series of complex adaptations between cognitive and cultural processes. Exploring the nature of the tension between religious traditions and reason, 'Religion as Magical Ideology' develops a dual inheritance theory of religion - which combines the cognitive byproduct and prosocial adaptation accounts - and analyses the connection between the function of a belief and the degree of protection it gets from potential counter-evidence. With discussion ranging from individual cognitive mechanisms, general functional considerations, to the limits of evolutionary and cognitive processes, the book offers readers a systematic account of how cognition shapes religious beliefs and practices.

Author: Konrad Talmont-Kaminski
ISBN-10: 1844656446
ISBN-13: 9781844656448
Publisher: Routledge
Language: English
Published: 04/30/2013
Pages: 172
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.10w x 0.90d