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La evolución del cerebro y la idea de dios. Los orígenes de la religión
Dónde y cuándo surgieron los dioses? ¿Cómo adquirieron los atributos y las responsabilidades que los caracterizan? Carl Jung afirmaba que “todas las eras anteriores a la nuestra creyeron en dioses, de uno u otro modo”, mientras que otros estudiosos de las religiones sostienen que la creencia religiosa es uno de los principales factores que separan al Homo sapiens moderno de sus predecesores. En La evolución del cerebro y la idea de dios, Edwin Fuller Torrey recurre a los últimos hallazgos en la investigación neurocientífica para proponer la teoría de que la creencia en los dioses y en el más allá supone no sólo un subproducto de la evolución, sino la evidencia del desarrollo de las capacidades cognitivas de los seres humanos.
Por medio del estudio comparado de distintas fuentes —desde la datación de restos funerarios, cráneos y artefactos antiguos hasta estudios de imágenes cerebrales, primatología y desarrollo infantil—, Torrey reúne pruebas de que la aparición de los dioses fue una consecuencia incidental de varios factores evolutivos y describe cómo las nuevas capacidades cognitivas dieron lugar a nuevos comportamientos que desembocaron, por una parte, en la conceptualización y creación de los dioses y, por otra, en la creación de sociedades y de religiones organizadas.
Por ejemplo, la memoria autobiográfica, la capacidad de proyectarnos hacia atrás y hacia adelante en el tiempo, le dio al Homo sapiens una ventaja competitiva. Sin embargo, también condujo a la comprensión de la mortalidad, lo que incitó a creer en una alternativa a la muerte. Torrey detalla la secuencia neurobiológica que explica por qué los dioses aparecieron cuando lo hicieron, conectando hallazgos arqueológicos que incluyen ropa, arte, agricultura y urbanización con desarrollos cognitivos. Este libro no descarta las creencias, sino que las presenta como un resultado inevitable de la evolución del cerebro. Brindando explicaciones claras y accesibles de la neurociencia evolutiva, La evolución del cerebro y la idea de dios arrojará nueva luz sobre la mecánica de nuestros misterios más profundos.
373 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2017
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July 17, 2017
An utterly fascinating, absorbing account of the cognitive development of man leading to the origins of religion.
Over the last 200,000 years, the human brain has gone through stages of development which can be compared with the development of a child's brain in the first few years of life. What took homo sapiens 160,000 or so years takes a child 6 or 7 years. Around 40,000 years ago, we became capable of 'autobiographical memory', that is the ability to project ourselves forwards and backwards in time. We became able to predict future events with some accuracy, allowing us to plan ahead more skilfully. It was at this stage in our evolution that we began to comprehend more fully the inevitability of death and most likely to develop a fear of death.
The acquisition of what is termed 'autobiographical memory', together with the simultaneous development of other cognitive skills, led to the agricultural revolution of around 10,000 years ago. Communal living and working, as opposed to a more nomadic lifestyle, led to a dramatic increase in population. A settled life meant that the dead could be buried next to the living and so ancestor worship became increasingly important and elaborate.
By 6500 years ago, as civilisation progressed and the world population increased, a few important ancestors crossed a line and became gods. Political leaders soon recognised their usefulness and deployed them beyond the original focus on life and death to be instrumental in secular life, to help with wars and to cast judgement, for example.
In Mesopotamia around 4,500 years ago, the world's first civilisation, gods were anthropomorphised to a level where they behaved like the later Greek gods (who had their origins here). They behaved like humans but with supernatural powers. They ate and drank, fell in love and got married, had children, and all their needs were taken care of in the temples where they were given food and drink, were clothed and entertained. The world's first civilisation was firmly built on religious foundations that eventually pervaded every aspect of cultural, social and political life. Remarkably, parallel developments can be seen across the civilised world at this time, from Mesopotamia to Europe, to the Indus Valley, to China and beyond.
The evolutionary theory of the creation of gods presented in this book isn't new. It was first proposed by Charles Darwin. The explanation given here, however, clearly explains cognitive development in physical terms in a way that even a non scientist like myself can easily follow and actually enjoy learning about it. The social and cultural aspects of development are absorbing and have given me an almost completely new perspective on our origins.
Finally, the last chapters look at comparative theories of religion and a summary highlights the key points that all religions in the major civilisations have shared:
1. An answer to the problem of death. God provided immortality / eternal life.
2. Psychological and social benefits from group membership.
3. The sacred and the secular have usually developed hand in hand. For example, in Mesopotamia the temples of the gods controlled the workshops and the trade on which the economy was built. Political leaders aligned themselves with gods, often claiming divine status themselves.
4. The success of emerging religions is dependent upon the economic, political or military success of their adherents, e.g. Christianity through Rome, Buddhism through Ashoka.
5. New religions borrow gods and religious ideas from older religions. The Judeo-Christian religion is based on Mesopotamian religion from which it took the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel and the creation of man, and Zoroastrianism with its all-powerful Ahura Mazda and its belief in saviours, three of which were to be born of virgins and the last of which was to appear on the Day of Judgement.
To this day, a belief in gods has continued to be one of modern homo sapiens defining characteristics. For thousands of years now, gods have provided explanations for natural phenomena and answers to philosophical questions. Why does religion have such a stranglehold over our species? The answer is given that "we are not only clever, aware, empathic, and self reflective; we also have an autobiographical memory that allows us to integrate our past as we contemplate our future. This has made us, in the words of Karen Armstrong, homo religiosus."
Thanks to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for an ARC.
Over the last 200,000 years, the human brain has gone through stages of development which can be compared with the development of a child's brain in the first few years of life. What took homo sapiens 160,000 or so years takes a child 6 or 7 years. Around 40,000 years ago, we became capable of 'autobiographical memory', that is the ability to project ourselves forwards and backwards in time. We became able to predict future events with some accuracy, allowing us to plan ahead more skilfully. It was at this stage in our evolution that we began to comprehend more fully the inevitability of death and most likely to develop a fear of death.
The acquisition of what is termed 'autobiographical memory', together with the simultaneous development of other cognitive skills, led to the agricultural revolution of around 10,000 years ago. Communal living and working, as opposed to a more nomadic lifestyle, led to a dramatic increase in population. A settled life meant that the dead could be buried next to the living and so ancestor worship became increasingly important and elaborate.
By 6500 years ago, as civilisation progressed and the world population increased, a few important ancestors crossed a line and became gods. Political leaders soon recognised their usefulness and deployed them beyond the original focus on life and death to be instrumental in secular life, to help with wars and to cast judgement, for example.
In Mesopotamia around 4,500 years ago, the world's first civilisation, gods were anthropomorphised to a level where they behaved like the later Greek gods (who had their origins here). They behaved like humans but with supernatural powers. They ate and drank, fell in love and got married, had children, and all their needs were taken care of in the temples where they were given food and drink, were clothed and entertained. The world's first civilisation was firmly built on religious foundations that eventually pervaded every aspect of cultural, social and political life. Remarkably, parallel developments can be seen across the civilised world at this time, from Mesopotamia to Europe, to the Indus Valley, to China and beyond.
The evolutionary theory of the creation of gods presented in this book isn't new. It was first proposed by Charles Darwin. The explanation given here, however, clearly explains cognitive development in physical terms in a way that even a non scientist like myself can easily follow and actually enjoy learning about it. The social and cultural aspects of development are absorbing and have given me an almost completely new perspective on our origins.
Finally, the last chapters look at comparative theories of religion and a summary highlights the key points that all religions in the major civilisations have shared:
1. An answer to the problem of death. God provided immortality / eternal life.
2. Psychological and social benefits from group membership.
3. The sacred and the secular have usually developed hand in hand. For example, in Mesopotamia the temples of the gods controlled the workshops and the trade on which the economy was built. Political leaders aligned themselves with gods, often claiming divine status themselves.
4. The success of emerging religions is dependent upon the economic, political or military success of their adherents, e.g. Christianity through Rome, Buddhism through Ashoka.
5. New religions borrow gods and religious ideas from older religions. The Judeo-Christian religion is based on Mesopotamian religion from which it took the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel and the creation of man, and Zoroastrianism with its all-powerful Ahura Mazda and its belief in saviours, three of which were to be born of virgins and the last of which was to appear on the Day of Judgement.
To this day, a belief in gods has continued to be one of modern homo sapiens defining characteristics. For thousands of years now, gods have provided explanations for natural phenomena and answers to philosophical questions. Why does religion have such a stranglehold over our species? The answer is given that "we are not only clever, aware, empathic, and self reflective; we also have an autobiographical memory that allows us to integrate our past as we contemplate our future. This has made us, in the words of Karen Armstrong, homo religiosus."
Thanks to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for an ARC.
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January 19, 2022
"Bu kitap, tanrılara evrimsel bir yaklaşım getirmek üzere yazıldı."
(s.233)
İlk olarak baskıdan başlayalım. Elimde tuttuğum kitap, karton kapaklı, kapağında beynin ve Göbekli Tepe'de bulunan bir heykelin fotoğrafının olduğu Paloma Yayıncılıktan Erkan Aktaş çevirisiyle çıkan bir baskı. Kitabın orjinali 2017 yılında yazılmış ve kısa sürede kitap dilimize kazandırılmış ve İstanbul'da 2018 yılında basılmış.
Kitapta Torrey, dinleri (gerek örgütsel gerekse de bireysel olarak) beynin evrimiyle açıklamış. Bu noktada son 200.000 yıldaki beynimizde yaşanan evrimsel değişikliklerin dinlere nasıl sebep olduğunu çok güçlü örneklerle ortaya koymuş. Burada şunun altını çizmek istiyorum ki özellikle çocuklarda beynin gelişimi ile birlikte ortaya çıkan zihinsel becerilerin olduğu bölümdeki kanıtlar çok güçlü ve aksi kolay kolay yorumlanamaz derecede yazarın teorilerini doğruluyor.
Eğer ki ilahiyat bölümünde öğretim görevlisi olsaydım, birinci sınıfta bu kitabı zorunlu olarak okuturdum öğrencilerime. Çünkü dinlerin tarihsel gelişimi konusunda hiç bu denli kapsamlı ve açıklayıcı bir kitap görmedim. Dinlerin nasıl ortaya çıktığını bilmeden din bilimi dersi verilebilir mi bilmiyorum.
Yazarın en önemli iddiası, kişinin kendisinin farkına varmasında önemli bir etken olan otobiyografik belleğin dinlerin en önemli kaynağı olduğu yönünde.
"Nihayet, yaklaşık 40.000 yıl önce, otobiyografik bir bellek edindik ve kendimizi öncesinde mümkün olmayan bir şekilde geçmişte ve gelecekte düşünebilme becerisi kazandık." (s.234)
Beynimizin evriminin ve bununla birlikte gelişen zihinsel becerilerimizin dinlerin kökenleri olduğu ancak dinlerin yalnızca bunlardan beslenmediği, bununla birlikte diğer kişisel ve toplumsal ihtiyaçların da bunda payının bulunduğunu iddia eden yazar, özellikle toplumların kalabalıklaştıkça Tanrıların da güçlenip büyüdüğüne işaret ediyor. Atalara tapan Çatalhöyükten, Zeus'a tapan kalabalık Yunan toplumuna böyle ulaştığımızı söylüyor.
Dinlerin ekonomik kaynakları (zira, Hattuşaş'ta büyük tapınakta ilk dikkatinizi çekecek şey tahıl silolarıdır) kitapta biraz zayıf kaldıysa da değinilmediğini de söyleyemeyiz. İnsanların ürettikleri artık değerleri tapınaklara yığdıklarını bugün de hala geçerli olan, çalışmadan kazanan bir ruhban sınıfı yaratıldığını biz zaten biliyorduk bu nedenle kitapta belki de söylemesine gerek yoktu. Lakin bilmediğimiz şey, beynimizin fizyolojik yapısının bizim davranışlarımızı, düşüncelerimizi ne kadar iyi açıkladığı ki aslında buna şaşırmamak gerekir, düşüncelerimiz hislerimiz başka nerede olabilirdi zaten?
Kitabın doyurucu bilgilerine ilaveten, sonuna eklenen diğer teorileri özetleyen kısmı, kapsamlı dipnotları ve diğer kültürlerden rüya örnekleri ile son derece faydalı bir başucu eseri olacağını düşünüyorum.
Özellikle İlahiyat, Felsefe, Sosyoloji, Dinler Tarihi bölümlerinde okuyanların okuması gerektiğinin altını çiziyorum.
M. B.
İlk olarak baskıdan başlayalım. Elimde tuttuğum kitap, karton kapaklı, kapağında beynin ve Göbekli Tepe'de bulunan bir heykelin fotoğrafının olduğu Paloma Yayıncılıktan Erkan Aktaş çevirisiyle çıkan bir baskı. Kitabın orjinali 2017 yılında yazılmış ve kısa sürede kitap dilimize kazandırılmış ve İstanbul'da 2018 yılında basılmış.
Kitapta Torrey, dinleri (gerek örgütsel gerekse de bireysel olarak) beynin evrimiyle açıklamış. Bu noktada son 200.000 yıldaki beynimizde yaşanan evrimsel değişikliklerin dinlere nasıl sebep olduğunu çok güçlü örneklerle ortaya koymuş. Burada şunun altını çizmek istiyorum ki özellikle çocuklarda beynin gelişimi ile birlikte ortaya çıkan zihinsel becerilerin olduğu bölümdeki kanıtlar çok güçlü ve aksi kolay kolay yorumlanamaz derecede yazarın teorilerini doğruluyor.
Eğer ki ilahiyat bölümünde öğretim görevlisi olsaydım, birinci sınıfta bu kitabı zorunlu olarak okuturdum öğrencilerime. Çünkü dinlerin tarihsel gelişimi konusunda hiç bu denli kapsamlı ve açıklayıcı bir kitap görmedim. Dinlerin nasıl ortaya çıktığını bilmeden din bilimi dersi verilebilir mi bilmiyorum.
Yazarın en önemli iddiası, kişinin kendisinin farkına varmasında önemli bir etken olan otobiyografik belleğin dinlerin en önemli kaynağı olduğu yönünde.
"Nihayet, yaklaşık 40.000 yıl önce, otobiyografik bir bellek edindik ve kendimizi öncesinde mümkün olmayan bir şekilde geçmişte ve gelecekte düşünebilme becerisi kazandık." (s.234)
Beynimizin evriminin ve bununla birlikte gelişen zihinsel becerilerimizin dinlerin kökenleri olduğu ancak dinlerin yalnızca bunlardan beslenmediği, bununla birlikte diğer kişisel ve toplumsal ihtiyaçların da bunda payının bulunduğunu iddia eden yazar, özellikle toplumların kalabalıklaştıkça Tanrıların da güçlenip büyüdüğüne işaret ediyor. Atalara tapan Çatalhöyükten, Zeus'a tapan kalabalık Yunan toplumuna böyle ulaştığımızı söylüyor.
Dinlerin ekonomik kaynakları (zira, Hattuşaş'ta büyük tapınakta ilk dikkatinizi çekecek şey tahıl silolarıdır) kitapta biraz zayıf kaldıysa da değinilmediğini de söyleyemeyiz. İnsanların ürettikleri artık değerleri tapınaklara yığdıklarını bugün de hala geçerli olan, çalışmadan kazanan bir ruhban sınıfı yaratıldığını biz zaten biliyorduk bu nedenle kitapta belki de söylemesine gerek yoktu. Lakin bilmediğimiz şey, beynimizin fizyolojik yapısının bizim davranışlarımızı, düşüncelerimizi ne kadar iyi açıkladığı ki aslında buna şaşırmamak gerekir, düşüncelerimiz hislerimiz başka nerede olabilirdi zaten?
Kitabın doyurucu bilgilerine ilaveten, sonuna eklenen diğer teorileri özetleyen kısmı, kapsamlı dipnotları ve diğer kültürlerden rüya örnekleri ile son derece faydalı bir başucu eseri olacağını düşünüyorum.
Özellikle İlahiyat, Felsefe, Sosyoloji, Dinler Tarihi bölümlerinde okuyanların okuması gerektiğinin altını çiziyorum.
M. B.
April 24, 2022
Mükemmel bir kitap. İlahiyat, antropoloji ve tıp eğitimi almış bir bilim insanı beynimizin ve bilişsel yeteneklerimizin evrimsel süreçte nasıl geliştiğini işlerken bu süreçle beraber Tanrı kavramının ne zaman, ne şekilde ortaya çıktığını harika bir sistematikle anlatıyor.
Kitapta anlatılmak istenenin ne olduğuna dair kısa bir giriş, kafa karıştırabilecek tanımlamalar için açıklama ve bölümler hakkında kısa bilgilendirme notundan sonra Homo Habilis ile metne dalıyoruz. Arka kapakta da belirtildiği üzere yazarın temel iddiası; dini inancın beynin evriminin kaçınılmaz bir sonucu olduğu noktasında toplanıyor.
Edebi yönü kuvvetli bilim insanlarının yazdıklarına doyum olmuyor. O kadar güzel bir anlatım var ki kitapta su gibi akıp gidiyor metin. Bilişsel sıçramalar, benliğin gelişimi, içebakışçı benlik, otobiyografik hafıza gibi konular herkesin anlayabileceği bir dille evrim tarihi içine oturtulmuş durumda.
Çevirmen Erkan Aktaş'ı mutlaka anmam lazım. Birbirinden farklı birden çok bilim dalında teknik açıklamalar ve terimler içeren kitabı gerektiğinde parantez içi açıklamalar gibi yerinde müdahalelerle çok başarılı bir şekilde dilimize kazandırmış.
Okunması kolay ve gerçekten ufuk açıcı bir kitap. Soranlara tavsiye edebileceğim bir eser.
Kitapta anlatılmak istenenin ne olduğuna dair kısa bir giriş, kafa karıştırabilecek tanımlamalar için açıklama ve bölümler hakkında kısa bilgilendirme notundan sonra Homo Habilis ile metne dalıyoruz. Arka kapakta da belirtildiği üzere yazarın temel iddiası; dini inancın beynin evriminin kaçınılmaz bir sonucu olduğu noktasında toplanıyor.
Edebi yönü kuvvetli bilim insanlarının yazdıklarına doyum olmuyor. O kadar güzel bir anlatım var ki kitapta su gibi akıp gidiyor metin. Bilişsel sıçramalar, benliğin gelişimi, içebakışçı benlik, otobiyografik hafıza gibi konular herkesin anlayabileceği bir dille evrim tarihi içine oturtulmuş durumda.
Çevirmen Erkan Aktaş'ı mutlaka anmam lazım. Birbirinden farklı birden çok bilim dalında teknik açıklamalar ve terimler içeren kitabı gerektiğinde parantez içi açıklamalar gibi yerinde müdahalelerle çok başarılı bir şekilde dilimize kazandırmış.
Okunması kolay ve gerçekten ufuk açıcı bir kitap. Soranlara tavsiye edebileceğim bir eser.
January 18, 2020
Very revealing history of homo religious through homo sapiens' brain evolution. We follow step by step the evolution of our brain, the history of humanity and the apparition et transformation of religions accompanied by political power. We could almost say political religions so they work hand in hand. The stronger the power of a country and its main religion, the stronger and wider the religion became.
It can also be said that if political power has had such a hold on people, it is because of their fear of war, disease and death in all its forms and the assurance of religions to escape it. The more faith humans had in their gods, the more powerful the political power sitting on the same throne as them became.
But isn't it time to separate political power from the religious? Isn't it time to recognize that no religion has allowed us to escape our fears, quite the contrary!
Let us wake up! Our brains are now evolved enough to do without religions.
Thanks to GR giveaways, the publisher and the author for a copy of this excellent and very accessible book.
It can also be said that if political power has had such a hold on people, it is because of their fear of war, disease and death in all its forms and the assurance of religions to escape it. The more faith humans had in their gods, the more powerful the political power sitting on the same throne as them became.
But isn't it time to separate political power from the religious? Isn't it time to recognize that no religion has allowed us to escape our fears, quite the contrary!
Let us wake up! Our brains are now evolved enough to do without religions.
Thanks to GR giveaways, the publisher and the author for a copy of this excellent and very accessible book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2020
The book argues that the idea of gods appeared after the brain went through five specific cognitive developments - significant increase in the brain (Homo habilis), development of self-awareness (Homo erectus), theory of mind (archaic Homo sapiens), introspective ability to reflect on their own thoughts (early Homo sapiens) and autobiographical memory (modern Homo sapiens). Of course, the idea that the emergence of the concept of gods was connected to evolution is not new, it was first expressed by Darwin himself.
The author supports the theory that the most recent evolved brain areas, which are termed terminal and are associated with most cognitive skills, contributed to the development of the idea of god.For the need of supporting his theory he relies on several research areas:
1. Studies of hominin skulls, for example preserved skulls can tell us about the relative brain size, “and thus importance, of the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital areas.”
2. Studies of ancient artifacts, which “speak” of the overall development of the human species and of their cognitive skills, for example when early hominins began creating jewelry from shells, so they can be liked by other hominins.
3. Studies of postmortem brains.
4. Studies of brain imaging of living humans and primates.
5. Studies of child development. Torrey goes into length, describing various theories about ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny, meaning that the rate at which certain brain areas have developed throughout human evolution are similar to the rates at which the same brain areas develop in the human fetus.
Torrey heavily relies on the existence of parallel evolution to support his ideas (parallel evolution occurs when “organisms that have had a common genetic origin continue to evolve along similar lines even though they have been separated.”) For example, parallel evolution is considered the reason for the independent invention of pottery, writing, animal husbandry, etc.
The author states that only after the last development, people were able to experience death truly, like the end of existing, and thus to imagine a place where deceased ancestors may still exist. Of course, that doesn't mean that such cognitive skills were non-existed before these specific periods, it simply means that in these periods they were sufficiently matured to change an individual or a group`s behaviour.
With the last development, i.e autobiographical memory, agriculture appeared and allowed for large groups of people to settle. The burying of the dead in close proximity with the living helped the ancestor cults and worship mature. With passing time these worshipped ancestors became numerous, some were even arranged in hierarchies. At a certain time some of these ancestors crossed “a line” and became regarded as gods. Not long after that gods were secularized and became a political weapon.
Torrey writes great for the wider audience, he is not one to go easy into hyper interpretations, which is great, and also rare, especially when you deal with such a matter. He is critical, does not accept light-heartedly ideas but presents a variety of them in detail to the reader, he even dedicates a whole chapter on other theories about the emergence of the idea of gods. When speaking of agricultural evolution he also looks at how it developed in China, Africa and Mesoamerica, many other authors usually skip that. The bibliography is extensive and very, very rich, from scientific papers on neuroimaging or VENs to books on cave art and its significance.
The author supports the theory that the most recent evolved brain areas, which are termed terminal and are associated with most cognitive skills, contributed to the development of the idea of god.For the need of supporting his theory he relies on several research areas:
1. Studies of hominin skulls, for example preserved skulls can tell us about the relative brain size, “and thus importance, of the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital areas.”
2. Studies of ancient artifacts, which “speak” of the overall development of the human species and of their cognitive skills, for example when early hominins began creating jewelry from shells, so they can be liked by other hominins.
3. Studies of postmortem brains.
4. Studies of brain imaging of living humans and primates.
5. Studies of child development. Torrey goes into length, describing various theories about ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny, meaning that the rate at which certain brain areas have developed throughout human evolution are similar to the rates at which the same brain areas develop in the human fetus.
Torrey heavily relies on the existence of parallel evolution to support his ideas (parallel evolution occurs when “organisms that have had a common genetic origin continue to evolve along similar lines even though they have been separated.”) For example, parallel evolution is considered the reason for the independent invention of pottery, writing, animal husbandry, etc.
The author states that only after the last development, people were able to experience death truly, like the end of existing, and thus to imagine a place where deceased ancestors may still exist. Of course, that doesn't mean that such cognitive skills were non-existed before these specific periods, it simply means that in these periods they were sufficiently matured to change an individual or a group`s behaviour.
With the last development, i.e autobiographical memory, agriculture appeared and allowed for large groups of people to settle. The burying of the dead in close proximity with the living helped the ancestor cults and worship mature. With passing time these worshipped ancestors became numerous, some were even arranged in hierarchies. At a certain time some of these ancestors crossed “a line” and became regarded as gods. Not long after that gods were secularized and became a political weapon.
Torrey writes great for the wider audience, he is not one to go easy into hyper interpretations, which is great, and also rare, especially when you deal with such a matter. He is critical, does not accept light-heartedly ideas but presents a variety of them in detail to the reader, he even dedicates a whole chapter on other theories about the emergence of the idea of gods. When speaking of agricultural evolution he also looks at how it developed in China, Africa and Mesoamerica, many other authors usually skip that. The bibliography is extensive and very, very rich, from scientific papers on neuroimaging or VENs to books on cave art and its significance.
September 15, 2017
One of the benefits of deciding to request books from NetGalley is that it exposes me to more academic science writing than I might otherwise find. Thanks to Columbia University Press for letting me read this. I’m really fascinated by the study of religion, from a sociological and anthropological perspective. I love to learn about the history of religions, and also about how we know what we know. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods looks at the origins of gods—in the sense of anthropomorphic beings with discrete identities and roles—from the perspective of evolutionary neuroscience. E. Fuller Torrey traces the cognitive development of the human brain over time and attempts to link the advent of specific capabilities—increased intelligence, self-awareness, theory of mind, introspection, and autobiographical memory—to the development of the concept of gods. The result is an interesting mixture of evolution, cognitive neuroscience, and religious anthropology, although it’s probably heavier on the first two.
Discussion of religion aside, I found this book very clearly debunks some of the myths and pitfalls that crop up when thinking, as a lay person, about evolution. For example, during the introduction, Torrey explains that, when discussing when certain cognitive developments occurred is always going to be a vague thing:
Evolution doesn’t have clear dividing lines. Torrey reminds us throughout the book that our record is scattered, incomplete, and biased (in terms of what types of materials are likely to be preserved and where we are likely to find them). The study of evolution and human prehistory, then, is fraught with all the complications that this imperfect picture of the past must create. Ultimately, we have to accept that there are some things we just may never know for certain, even if we can come up with a few very compelling, albeit competing, theories.
I also like how Torrey nudges us away from the simplistic picture of the evolutionary ladder. For those of us fortunate enough to actually learn about evolution in schools, sometimes we get the mistaken impression that it was a discrete and one-dimensional progression, from Australopithecus to H. habilis to H. erectus and so on. And indeed, at one point this might have been the thinking—but science changes, even as our schools and textbooks are slow to adapt:
Additionally, Torrey does a good job communicating the impressive spans of time at work here. H. habilis and H. erectus lived side by side for 500,000 years! That’s longer than we’ve been around as a species and about 100 times longer than we’ve had writing.
On a related note, you really do get a sense of how human development seems to have accelerated dramatically over the past 100,000 years. We went from nascent tribal groupings to civilizations to spaceflight in what is practically an evolutionary blink of an eye. Each cognitive development, whatever spurred it on, made it easier for the next development to happen. Evolution is somewhat random, but it is also a series of intense feedback cycles.
I also appreciate how Torrey links cognitive development so explicitly to technological and cultural innovation. This might seem self-evident, but we forget this and tend to project our own, current cognitive capacity backwards. So it wasn’t just a case of, for X thousands of years, no human ever noticed something or tried whatever it was that led to an invention or a new idea. As Torrey illustrates, it might have been that, for that long, we were neurologically incapable of noticing or of having that idea or of doing whatever was required to make that leap.
It’s just so weird and wonderful to think about how the structures in our brains literally make us who we are and determine how we can think!
Torrey goes into great detail explaining human evolutionary history. As you can see, this is what stuck with me most. For better or worse, the actual thesis—how we developed ideas of gods—sometimes felt like it was lurking in the background, waiting in the wings for us to get far enough along in history for Torrey to really talk about the evidence at hand. It isn’t until the penultimate chapter or so that we actually talk much about gods per se. I don’t think this is a fault of the book’s structure itself so much as, you know, the facts available to us. Just be aware, going in, that this is more so a book about evolution and neuroscience that just so happens to talk a lot about gods and beliefs.
The last chapter very briefly examines some of the other theories, most of them sociological, that have been proposed to explain gods. I don’t want to be too harsh here, because Torrey up front notes that this is about as short of a survey as you can get and still call it a survey. Still, it is very concise. Of Julian Jaynes’ famous bicameral mind theory, Torrey sums up his dismissal in a single sentence: “Jaynes’s thesis is at odds with almost everything known about the evolution of the human brain”. Although I lol'd at such treatment, I was hoping for a bit more of a takedown. I guess that’s what the 40% of the book that’s endnotes are for? (No joke, I love a book that is significantly composed of endnotes.)
Anyone who has a basic scientific understanding of human evolution (i.e., you won’t find the language in here too difficult) will probably enjoy improving the depth of their understanding here. If, like me, you want to learn a lot about the history of religion, you’re not necessarily going to learn as much as you might think, but there’s still some good stuff here. In the end, Torrey succeeds in showing me how the gradual evolution of the human brain played an integral role in our ability to conceive of and use gods, whatever they might be.
Discussion of religion aside, I found this book very clearly debunks some of the myths and pitfalls that crop up when thinking, as a lay person, about evolution. For example, during the introduction, Torrey explains that, when discussing when certain cognitive developments occurred is always going to be a vague thing:
Arguing that a specific cognitive skill is associated with a specific stage of hominin evolution of course does not mean that this skill developed only at that time.
Evolution doesn’t have clear dividing lines. Torrey reminds us throughout the book that our record is scattered, incomplete, and biased (in terms of what types of materials are likely to be preserved and where we are likely to find them). The study of evolution and human prehistory, then, is fraught with all the complications that this imperfect picture of the past must create. Ultimately, we have to accept that there are some things we just may never know for certain, even if we can come up with a few very compelling, albeit competing, theories.
I also like how Torrey nudges us away from the simplistic picture of the evolutionary ladder. For those of us fortunate enough to actually learn about evolution in schools, sometimes we get the mistaken impression that it was a discrete and one-dimensional progression, from Australopithecus to H. habilis to H. erectus and so on. And indeed, at one point this might have been the thinking—but science changes, even as our schools and textbooks are slow to adapt:
Previously, it was thought that Homo erectus had descended from Homo habilis, but recent archeological research suggests that Homo habilis and Homo erectus lived side by side in what is now northern Kenya “for almost half a million years,” making this evolutionary sequence less likely.
Additionally, Torrey does a good job communicating the impressive spans of time at work here. H. habilis and H. erectus lived side by side for 500,000 years! That’s longer than we’ve been around as a species and about 100 times longer than we’ve had writing.
On a related note, you really do get a sense of how human development seems to have accelerated dramatically over the past 100,000 years. We went from nascent tribal groupings to civilizations to spaceflight in what is practically an evolutionary blink of an eye. Each cognitive development, whatever spurred it on, made it easier for the next development to happen. Evolution is somewhat random, but it is also a series of intense feedback cycles.
I also appreciate how Torrey links cognitive development so explicitly to technological and cultural innovation. This might seem self-evident, but we forget this and tend to project our own, current cognitive capacity backwards. So it wasn’t just a case of, for X thousands of years, no human ever noticed something or tried whatever it was that led to an invention or a new idea. As Torrey illustrates, it might have been that, for that long, we were neurologically incapable of noticing or of having that idea or of doing whatever was required to make that leap.
It’s just so weird and wonderful to think about how the structures in our brains literally make us who we are and determine how we can think!
Torrey goes into great detail explaining human evolutionary history. As you can see, this is what stuck with me most. For better or worse, the actual thesis—how we developed ideas of gods—sometimes felt like it was lurking in the background, waiting in the wings for us to get far enough along in history for Torrey to really talk about the evidence at hand. It isn’t until the penultimate chapter or so that we actually talk much about gods per se. I don’t think this is a fault of the book’s structure itself so much as, you know, the facts available to us. Just be aware, going in, that this is more so a book about evolution and neuroscience that just so happens to talk a lot about gods and beliefs.
The last chapter very briefly examines some of the other theories, most of them sociological, that have been proposed to explain gods. I don’t want to be too harsh here, because Torrey up front notes that this is about as short of a survey as you can get and still call it a survey. Still, it is very concise. Of Julian Jaynes’ famous bicameral mind theory, Torrey sums up his dismissal in a single sentence: “Jaynes’s thesis is at odds with almost everything known about the evolution of the human brain”. Although I lol'd at such treatment, I was hoping for a bit more of a takedown. I guess that’s what the 40% of the book that’s endnotes are for? (No joke, I love a book that is significantly composed of endnotes.)
Anyone who has a basic scientific understanding of human evolution (i.e., you won’t find the language in here too difficult) will probably enjoy improving the depth of their understanding here. If, like me, you want to learn a lot about the history of religion, you’re not necessarily going to learn as much as you might think, but there’s still some good stuff here. In the end, Torrey succeeds in showing me how the gradual evolution of the human brain played an integral role in our ability to conceive of and use gods, whatever they might be.
August 4, 2022
Life-changing book, in the sense that it presents logical and scientifically-sound answers to very complex questions about the nature of our human curiosity towards God or the gods that created everything that we know. The evolution of our brains allowed us to understand death and life, and to look for answers about them. Belief in an afterlife and the worshipping of ancestors allowed for these ancestors to turn “divine” and for us to regard them as gods. There was no way back from this soothing thought that Someone was in control, and that death need not be the end we so dread. Along with many other brilliant elements, Fuller’s answer to the God question is very solid and complete. I had been looking for a book like this for quite some time; it was worth the wait. Highly recommended.
December 7, 2019
I am a brain geek with a passing interest in world religions, mostly in understanding the psychosocial basis and consequences of religion, so I jumped at the chance to read this book (thanks, NetGalley!!). It did not disappoint. The author posits that religion is a byproduct of human evolution; as our brains evolved to understand ourselves, make memories, think about death, etc., religion developed as a means of making sense of life and death. I do have a few unanswered questions. Specifically, how then does the author explain the rise of atheism? Is it a consequence of further brain development, scientific advancement, or is it adaptive to not believe in a higher power? I'm not religious myself, and these questions popped up as I finished the book. The author's theory is interesting and makes scientific sense; however, it does not address the fact of no religion, which is a drawback. This is a very fascinating book, though, and one that taught me a lot about brain evolution. A must read for anyone interested in the subject matter.
January 3, 2020
Fascinating. If you are short of time or get bogged down in the brain anatomy parts, each chapter is nicely summarized and you can skip around a bit. Long story short, our brains weren't able to create religions until they finished five key developments, then went hog wild creating every variation that has ever existed in a remarkably short time. Not sure if I agree that religion was necessary for advanced societies, but they certainly seem to have started together. Author also doesn't think we'll grow out of religion any time soon, though it is implied that if it ever was evolutionarily advantageous, it has become the opposite with the possibility of world wide armageddon. Just really interesting to read and reflect on.
July 8, 2020
This is a strong case for the evolutionary origin of religion (i.e., that gods came about as a result of humans' developing brains). Here, Torrey points toward the acquisition of "autobiographical memory" and the awareness of death.
I now understand more clearly why I wasn’t wild about Nicholas Wade’s argument in The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures. IMO, Wade overemphasizes the social (and more narrowly, prosocial) benefits of religion. Those social benefits may have given believing humans somewhat of an evolutionary advantage, but even if they did, I don’t think they are the ORIGIN of religious belief. And religiosity can just as easily be argued to be a negative thing for humankind. So I'm firmly in the "religion is an evolutionary BYPRODUCT, not necessarily adaptive" camp.
The book is current (2017) and very readable. However, while it's a good overview of the subject, it's not particularly original. Torrey pretty much regurgitates Pascal Boyer, Scott Atran, Richard Dawkins, et al. If you're willing to really go deep, you could dive into Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought. Daniel Dennett also covers the evolutionary origins of religion in part of his Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, but both Boyer and Dennett are so. damn. dry. You might do just as well to read Michael Shermer's work on patternicity and agenticity in The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. I think those "cognitive systems" or "cognitive mechanisms" are really important and Torrey does not address them.
I now understand more clearly why I wasn’t wild about Nicholas Wade’s argument in The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures. IMO, Wade overemphasizes the social (and more narrowly, prosocial) benefits of religion. Those social benefits may have given believing humans somewhat of an evolutionary advantage, but even if they did, I don’t think they are the ORIGIN of religious belief. And religiosity can just as easily be argued to be a negative thing for humankind. So I'm firmly in the "religion is an evolutionary BYPRODUCT, not necessarily adaptive" camp.
The book is current (2017) and very readable. However, while it's a good overview of the subject, it's not particularly original. Torrey pretty much regurgitates Pascal Boyer, Scott Atran, Richard Dawkins, et al. If you're willing to really go deep, you could dive into Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought. Daniel Dennett also covers the evolutionary origins of religion in part of his Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, but both Boyer and Dennett are so. damn. dry. You might do just as well to read Michael Shermer's work on patternicity and agenticity in The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. I think those "cognitive systems" or "cognitive mechanisms" are really important and Torrey does not address them.
May 4, 2022
Added to the favorites shelves. This one is a work of science, really profound and exploratory.
Sciences which the book offers: neuroscience, history, paleonthology, anthropology, paleoanthropology, evolutionary psychology and cognitive science of religions.
Awesome. The first four chapters are all about the parts of the brain to have evolved late, meaning that every kind of hominin (Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, Neanderthalensis, and many others) have evolved different kinds of brains, meaning that the first hominins, and the first Homo Sapiens couldn't have completely evolved the brain wiring to create gods.
The thesis is about conditions human brains need to comply in order to evolve a religious "mind" or to become a Homo Religiosus. First, we need concience. We also need the theory of mind, meaning that a person can be able to think about what another person thinks. And we also need autobiographical memory- a memory that can set ourselves in both past and future. Homo Erectus had big brains, but the lacked theory of mind; they also couldn't think about themselves in the future. People are gonna ask "How do they know that?" That's why the first four chapters are about brain structure, from an evolutionary point of view.
The rest of the book explains the whereabouts of past civilizations using tools such as history, anthropology and cognitive science of religion. This book was really amazing when it comes to explain the kind of brain structures we need to create gods or religions.
Sciences which the book offers: neuroscience, history, paleonthology, anthropology, paleoanthropology, evolutionary psychology and cognitive science of religions.
Awesome. The first four chapters are all about the parts of the brain to have evolved late, meaning that every kind of hominin (Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, Neanderthalensis, and many others) have evolved different kinds of brains, meaning that the first hominins, and the first Homo Sapiens couldn't have completely evolved the brain wiring to create gods.
The thesis is about conditions human brains need to comply in order to evolve a religious "mind" or to become a Homo Religiosus. First, we need concience. We also need the theory of mind, meaning that a person can be able to think about what another person thinks. And we also need autobiographical memory- a memory that can set ourselves in both past and future. Homo Erectus had big brains, but the lacked theory of mind; they also couldn't think about themselves in the future. People are gonna ask "How do they know that?" That's why the first four chapters are about brain structure, from an evolutionary point of view.
The rest of the book explains the whereabouts of past civilizations using tools such as history, anthropology and cognitive science of religion. This book was really amazing when it comes to explain the kind of brain structures we need to create gods or religions.
December 11, 2017
In this book, religion is studied as a naturalistic phenomenon. The author uses a cross-disciplinary approach to understand the development of religious belief and the “high god” world religions. Combining human paleontology, primatology, archaeology, brain research and neuroscience he creates a testable story of the origins of religion. As the human brain size expands over several millions years it evolves intelligence, self-awareness, introspection and autobiographical memory. The fear of death and a view that dreams are a glimpse of the spirit world drive a belief in an afterlife. Ancestors passing on to the spirit world and over generations of worship are transformed into gods. With the advent of agriculture and the rise of complex stratified states they become the "high gods" and serve a functional purpose for control. They eventually become integrated to economic, military and social aspects of ancient civilizations. Is religion a by-product of evolution, a random and accidental feature of brain evolution, or does religion give you human beings a survival advantage? This is one of the many interesting questions of the book. The book is split into two parts as the title states. Recommended reading.
June 6, 2020
Dini inancın, beyin evriminin nörobiyolojik gelişiminin bir sonucu olduğunu savunuyor. Antik kafatasları, beyin görüntüleme, çocuk gelişimi, arkeoloji gibi alanlardan gelen bilgilerle tezini açıklıyor.
Kitabın son bölümünde din kavramını açıklayan başka kuramları da özetliyor.
Yazarın tezi ile ilgili bazı eleştirilerim var, örneğin paralel evrimin dünyanın farklı köşelerinde aynı dönemlere denk gelmesi biraz şüpheli. Tabi böyle bir konuda mevcut bilgilerle kusursuz bir açıklama beklemek de çok gerçekçi değil. Son derece ufuk açıcı bir çalışma. Konu ile ilgilenenlerin mutlaka okumasını öneririm.
Kitabın son bölümünde din kavramını açıklayan başka kuramları da özetliyor.
Yazarın tezi ile ilgili bazı eleştirilerim var, örneğin paralel evrimin dünyanın farklı köşelerinde aynı dönemlere denk gelmesi biraz şüpheli. Tabi böyle bir konuda mevcut bilgilerle kusursuz bir açıklama beklemek de çok gerçekçi değil. Son derece ufuk açıcı bir çalışma. Konu ile ilgilenenlerin mutlaka okumasını öneririm.
August 26, 2020
Beynin evriminin insanın dünyayı algılayışı üzerine etkilerini anlamak için çok güzel bir eser. Biyolojik ve sosyal evrim üzerine yazılmış başarılı bir kitap. Beynimizin bu güne ulaşan sürecine paralel olarak inanç sistemlerinin gelişimi de çok iyi açıklanmış. Aklımdaki pek çok sorunun cevabını buldum.
Not: Çevrisi güzel yapılmış. Kitapta güzel bir kaynakça bölümü de mevcut. Bazı yayınevlerinin yaptığı gibi Türkçe versiyonda kağıt tasarrufu için kaynakça kırpılmamış yani.
Not: Çevrisi güzel yapılmış. Kitapta güzel bir kaynakça bölümü de mevcut. Bazı yayınevlerinin yaptığı gibi Türkçe versiyonda kağıt tasarrufu için kaynakça kırpılmamış yani.
April 7, 2022
Homo sapiens evrimleşti, otobiyografik bir bellek elde etti, atalarından farklı olarak geçmiş ve gelecek üzerine düşünebilmeyi başardı ve bununla nasıl baş edemedi kitabı.
“İnsan tam anlamıyla ikiye bölünmüştür: Kendi dikkat çekici benzersizliğine dair bir farkındalığa sahiptir, böylece yüce bir görkemle doğadan ayrışır ancak yine de körü körüne ve ahmakça toprağın altına girerek çürür ve sonsuza dek yok olur. Bu ikilemle yüzleşmek ve onunla birlikte yaşamak zorunda olmak dehşet vericidir.”
“İnsan tam anlamıyla ikiye bölünmüştür: Kendi dikkat çekici benzersizliğine dair bir farkındalığa sahiptir, böylece yüce bir görkemle doğadan ayrışır ancak yine de körü körüne ve ahmakça toprağın altına girerek çürür ve sonsuza dek yok olur. Bu ikilemle yüzleşmek ve onunla birlikte yaşamak zorunda olmak dehşet vericidir.”
January 30, 2025
Neuroscience mixed with ancient history? Yes, please! Lovely little book and very easy reading. Which is a great compliment for the subjects at hand.
1 star off for the paragraphs about autism and theory of mind. It seems that the 'double empathy problem' has not yet crossed the mind of the author. Further, the tests he is referring to are into question, see:
Empirical Failures of the Claim That Autistic People Lack a Theory of Mind
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
1 star off for the paragraphs about autism and theory of mind. It seems that the 'double empathy problem' has not yet crossed the mind of the author. Further, the tests he is referring to are into question, see:
Empirical Failures of the Claim That Autistic People Lack a Theory of Mind
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
January 4, 2020
Çevirmekten büyük keyif aldığım ve bu süreçte çok şey öğrendiğim bir kitap. Dinlerin ve daha genel anlamda inanmanın insan beyninin evrimsel gelişiminde bir yan ürün olarak ortaya çıktığını multidisipliner bir yaklaşımla anlatmakta. Beni şaşırtan bir detay da Anadolu’nun, özellikle Göbeklitepe’nin adının kitapta çokça geçmesi. Okumanızı tavsiye ederim.
January 29, 2023
Do thought forms develop spontaneously, or is the main factor that reveals thought forms is the development and change of the brain as well?
Author Torrey started his book by looking for an answer to this question. Of course, this philosophical question proceeds based on data, research and resources, rather than the way of thinking about it. In the end, the author reveals that human thinking structure has changed by going through an evolutionary process in the light of the knowledge that it is directly connected with the development of the brain.
Among the living species (although the time period is very long), we are the fastest developing and changing living beings. A person who cannot think or know anything is starting to learn and get to know himself and nature over time. At this point, while the factor of "experiencing" is an indispensable element for a person, a person begins to acquire the ability to survive first. Subsequently, when a person who tries to know and make sense of himself provides the basic vital factors for himself, the forms of thought that develop are shaped accordingly. Speaking of experience, the loss of loved ones also affected him very much in a religious sense, and a person created an innocent way of consolation by attributing his desire to be eternal, which he will never achieve, to his loved ones who died with faith. While the author has been covering the development of the human brain one by one so far, he tells us how the parts of the brain that he uses have changed in the evolutionary process, detailing the process until today's human begins to think multifaceted.
In the continuation of the book, he shows how this process of change is integrated into the religious dimension, the similarities of religious rituals developed by human communities in different parts of the world unaware of each other, and the almost simultaneous occurrence of evolutionary processes. In other words, the author does not deny faith and religion, but rather accepts it and sees it as a stage of the evolutionary process.
What I saw in the book was how bravely human history faced its own tragedy, and the evolutionary process was hidden in this courage. The subject comes back to Nietzsche, who has surpassed theses on human philosophy, in my eyes. From our greatest destructions, our greatest ascents are developing. Here is the evolution in our tragedy.
Author Torrey started his book by looking for an answer to this question. Of course, this philosophical question proceeds based on data, research and resources, rather than the way of thinking about it. In the end, the author reveals that human thinking structure has changed by going through an evolutionary process in the light of the knowledge that it is directly connected with the development of the brain.
Among the living species (although the time period is very long), we are the fastest developing and changing living beings. A person who cannot think or know anything is starting to learn and get to know himself and nature over time. At this point, while the factor of "experiencing" is an indispensable element for a person, a person begins to acquire the ability to survive first. Subsequently, when a person who tries to know and make sense of himself provides the basic vital factors for himself, the forms of thought that develop are shaped accordingly. Speaking of experience, the loss of loved ones also affected him very much in a religious sense, and a person created an innocent way of consolation by attributing his desire to be eternal, which he will never achieve, to his loved ones who died with faith. While the author has been covering the development of the human brain one by one so far, he tells us how the parts of the brain that he uses have changed in the evolutionary process, detailing the process until today's human begins to think multifaceted.
In the continuation of the book, he shows how this process of change is integrated into the religious dimension, the similarities of religious rituals developed by human communities in different parts of the world unaware of each other, and the almost simultaneous occurrence of evolutionary processes. In other words, the author does not deny faith and religion, but rather accepts it and sees it as a stage of the evolutionary process.
What I saw in the book was how bravely human history faced its own tragedy, and the evolutionary process was hidden in this courage. The subject comes back to Nietzsche, who has surpassed theses on human philosophy, in my eyes. From our greatest destructions, our greatest ascents are developing. Here is the evolution in our tragedy.
September 28, 2018
Religion and other seemingly abstract ideas have always been of great interest to me (How do we conceive of such things? Why do we conceive of such things?), and I found this book to be very helpful to my own investigations. Torrey traces evidence of human brain evolution and of religious practice, how it began, why it began, where it has come from and where it is going. He elaborately explains what sets us apart from other creatures and why such a difference exists. I fell in love with this book from the first page and was hardly able to put it down. Of course, we will never really know how religion came to exist and under what circumstances, but we can certainly see why it continues to exist today and why it has had such a profound effect on our species. And religion is just one of many effects itself (ie: an effect of an active, well-developed emotional center in the brain; an effect of our ability to introspect; an effect of being able to conceptualize time frames in past-present-future; etc.), making it both cause and effect.
April 9, 2020
The book could have easily been half as long without losing any of its critical information. Much of the book consists of the author giving evidence to his basic claims, which is good from an academic point of view, but it doesn't do much for interesting reading. The main issue is that he gives the same types of evidence over and over; we get it, many separate civilizations buried their deceased with grave goods.
I expected the book to focus more on the conceptual and psychological basis of gods and religions in terms of their development along with evolution, but instead it is more of a study of the cognitive prerequisites for gods. Not much of the book is actually spent talking about religion and gods, and when it is, I feel that the author could have done a better job at explaining exactly how the cognitive developments relate to the development of religion.
I expected the book to focus more on the conceptual and psychological basis of gods and religions in terms of their development along with evolution, but instead it is more of a study of the cognitive prerequisites for gods. Not much of the book is actually spent talking about religion and gods, and when it is, I feel that the author could have done a better job at explaining exactly how the cognitive developments relate to the development of religion.
November 5, 2020
Yazar konu ile ilgili kendi görüşlerini destekleyen konularda ciddi bir araştırma yapmış bu yadsınamaz bir gerçek ancak bu tarz kitaplar da ben karşıt görüşleri de bir arada görmek isteyenlerdenim bu konuda ciddi bir eksiklik var neredeyse antitez hiçbir şey okumadım. Kitapta beni en çok zorlayan hususlardan bir tanesi de referans olarak verilen kaynakçaların ve görüşlerin kitap içerisinde kronolojik sırayla alt alta eklenmiş gibi durması yazarın kendi cümlelerinden oluşan kısım en fazla %20-%30 düzeyindedir. Kitap sürekli Arkeolog....'nin de belirttiği gibi veya Antrolopog .....'nin de ... isimli kitabında ifade ettiği gibi cümlelerle ilerliyor. Bu da bir yerden sonra insanın odaklanmasını ciddi zorlaştırıyor. Son olarak da kitap içerisinde çok fazla tekrar bölüm bulunuyor.
March 30, 2019
Yazar, beynin gelişimini ve dinlerin ortaya çıkışını evrimsel bakış açısıyla inceliyor. Sonlara doğru başka bakış açılarının savunucularına da değiniyor. Çok akıcı ve bilgilendirici bir kitap.
October 19, 2025
As far as writing style goes, this book has none. The experience of reading this was on par with reading a 300 page meta-analysis stripped of diagram figures and overly technical jargon.
The content itself is cool, though. I’d say about 50% of it was familiar to me and would be for anyone who’s taken two or three psych/neuro courses. The way that he synthesizes more recent, groundbreaking discoveries with existing consensus(es?) idk what the plural of consensus is. Anyway, yeah that was where the magic happened, but those moments were unfortunately few and far between.
The content itself is cool, though. I’d say about 50% of it was familiar to me and would be for anyone who’s taken two or three psych/neuro courses. The way that he synthesizes more recent, groundbreaking discoveries with existing consensus(es?) idk what the plural of consensus is. Anyway, yeah that was where the magic happened, but those moments were unfortunately few and far between.
March 31, 2021
A fascinating and compelling examination of intersection between the evolution of the brain and the development of gods and religion, evoking many curiosities. Includes a nice, juicy bibliography as well, to satiate said curiosity.
May 5, 2021
Great summary of the evolutionary biology and psychology of the mind/consciousness and how it can be an explanation for the human belief system.
July 31, 2022
One of my favorite fields of study; why the human brain believes.
Top-notch stuff here.
Top-notch stuff here.
March 17, 2026
Such an amazing book! Cannot wait to read it again...
December 8, 2019
Very intriguing. Easy to follow and understand. Well researched. Food for thought.
March 9, 2020
This is a very niche book. I went into it expecting a book that dealt more with the conceptual movement from various spiritualities and religions throughout time. Instead, it was more of a psychological and neurological assessment on the subject. It had some fascinating information, and I learned a lot, but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
January 25, 2019
I have to admit I came across thing book as a recommendation from another reader ( https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8...) who mentioned its significance.
The book walks to its majority toward the neuroscience of brain evolution and archaeological evidence of our brain development using fossils, which I believe Torrey did a great job in presenting.
The second part of the book dimmed a bit the anatomical physiological aspect of the brain and went to describe the plethora of archaic civilizations that all manifested similar aspects of religious elements. How the monotheistic faith was a natural consequence to the culture of God borrowing among civilizations, how cultures of pyramids spanned from Latin America to Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan...
Overall this is a nice pill of knowledge to the both the world of science and human brain development and the world of religion and ancient civilization deities. What I didn't like is the constant jumping in time, which made it a bit difficult to follow, Torrey would describe historical monuments dating to 60,000 years then right after describe another only at 28,000 years both belonging to different species of early humans which he extensively described at the beginning.
He also avoided presenting his own voice, he would describe the argument and the counter argument of various archaeologists and scholars and avoid siding or leaning toward one versus the other, for example, were women worshiped in the Mesopotamian region or not!
In a nutshell this is a nice summary for many written documents from a biological stand point. But now that I have read the Torrey Fuller as Fiona suggested, I am still eager to read what Reza Aslan had to say in his book: God: A Human History.
The book walks to its majority toward the neuroscience of brain evolution and archaeological evidence of our brain development using fossils, which I believe Torrey did a great job in presenting.
The second part of the book dimmed a bit the anatomical physiological aspect of the brain and went to describe the plethora of archaic civilizations that all manifested similar aspects of religious elements. How the monotheistic faith was a natural consequence to the culture of God borrowing among civilizations, how cultures of pyramids spanned from Latin America to Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan...
Overall this is a nice pill of knowledge to the both the world of science and human brain development and the world of religion and ancient civilization deities. What I didn't like is the constant jumping in time, which made it a bit difficult to follow, Torrey would describe historical monuments dating to 60,000 years then right after describe another only at 28,000 years both belonging to different species of early humans which he extensively described at the beginning.
He also avoided presenting his own voice, he would describe the argument and the counter argument of various archaeologists and scholars and avoid siding or leaning toward one versus the other, for example, were women worshiped in the Mesopotamian region or not!
In a nutshell this is a nice summary for many written documents from a biological stand point. But now that I have read the Torrey Fuller as Fiona suggested, I am still eager to read what Reza Aslan had to say in his book: God: A Human History.
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