Why We Believe : Evolution and the Human Way of Being.
| Author/creator | Fuentes, Agustin |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | New Haven : Yale University Press, 2019. |
| Description | 1 online resource (281 pages). |
| Supplemental Content | EBSCOhost |
| Subjects |
| Series | Foundational Questions in Science Ser Foundational Questions in Science Ser. UNAUTHORIZED |
| Contents | Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface: Why We Believe; Part 1: Who Are We and How Did We Come to Believe?; 1. Belief, Evolution, and Our Place in the World; 2. What Makes Us Human?; 3. Constructing the Human Niche; 4. Animals, Plants, Buildings, and Pottery; Part 2: How Do We Believe?; 5. What Is Culture?; 6. How Culture Works; Part 3: Religion, Economies, Love, and Our Future; 7. Why We Believe versus What We Believe; 8. Religion; 9. Economies; 10. Love; 11. Does Belief Matter?; Acknowledgments; Notes; Bibliography; Index |
| Abstract | A wide-ranging argument by a renowned anthropologist that the capacity to believe is what makes us human Why are so many humans religious? Why do we daydream, imagine, and hope? Philosophers, theologians, social scientists, and historians have offered explanations for centuries, but their accounts often ignore or even avoid human evolution. Evolutionary scientists answer with proposals for why ritual, religion, and faith make sense as adaptations to past challenges or as by-products of our hyper-complex cognitive capacities. But what if the focus on religion is too narrow? Renowned anthropologist Agustín Fuentes argues that the capacity to be religious is actually a small part of a larger and deeper human capacity to believe. Why believe in religion, economies, love? A fascinating intervention into some of the most common misconceptions about human nature, this book employs evolutionary, neurobiological, and anthropological evidence to argue that belief--the ability to commit passionately and wholeheartedly to an idea--is central to the human way of being in the world. |
| Source of description | Print version record. |
| Issued in other form | Print version: Fuentes, Agustín. Why We Believe : Evolution and the Human Way of Being. New Haven : Yale University Press, ©2019 9780300243994 |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| ISBN | 9780300249255 (electronic bk.) |
| ISBN | 030024925X (electronic bk.) |
| Stock number | 22573/ctvnt7nkh JSTOR |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |