Breaking the Spell - by Daniel C Dennett (Paperback)

About the Book

An innovative thinker tackles the controversial question of why people believe in God and how religion shapes lives and futures by taking a look at history, philosophy, and psychology.

Book Synopsis

The New York Times bestseller - a "crystal-clear, constantly engaging" (Jared Diamond) exploration of the role that religious belief plays in our lives and our interactions

For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why--and how--it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion's evolution from "wild" folk belief to "domesticated" dogma. Not an antireligious screed but an unblinking look beneath the veil of orthodoxy, Breaking the Spell will be read and debated by believers and skeptics alike.

Review Quotes

"Ambitious . . . an accessible account of what might be called the natural history of religion."--The New Yorker

"How would a visitor from Mars dispassionately explain human religion? . . . My guess is that the result would be something like this crystal-clear, constantly engaging, and enjoyable new book."--Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse

"Rich and rewarding . . . the main business of the book is to give a scientific account of how religion may have developed among creatures such as us. . . . The product of an extremely bright mind."--San Francisco Chronicle

"An elegant, sharp-minded essay on the need to study religion in a dispassionate way."--The Economist

"Penetrating . . . a sharp synthesis of a library of evolutionary, anthropological and psychological research on the origin and spread of religion."--Scientific American

About the Author

Daniel C. Dennett is University Professor, professor of philosophy, and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. His books include From Bacteria to Bach and Back, Freedom Evolves, Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea, a finalist for the National Book Award.