Breaking The Spell: Religion As A Natural Phenomenon
Dec 6, 2009 Philosophy & Thinking, Religion and Ethics
In Breaking The Spell, Daniel Dennett argues for taking a rational, objective view of religious belief and behaviour in light of discoveries in neuroscience, evolutionary theory and other advancements in human understanding. Beginning with a discussion of the taboo of treating religion as a natural occurrence and examining it scientifically, the book goes on to do just that, and plead for the reader to do the same. I found it lacks the sometimes-harsh tone of Dawkins and Hitchens, and is aimed at believers as well as atheists, making it hard to accuse Dennett of preaching to the choir.
Summary: In his characteristically provocative fashion, Dennett, author of Darwin’s Dangerous Idea and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, calls for a scientific, rational examination of religion that will lead us to understand what purpose religion serves in our culture. Much like E.O. Wilson (In Search of Nature), Robert Wright (The Moral Animal), and Richard Dawkins (The Selfish Gene), Dennett explores religion as a cultural phenomenon governed by the processes of evolution and natural selection. Religion survives because it has some kind of beneficial role in human life, yet Dennett argues that it has also played a maleficent role.
Daniel Dennett: Breaking The Spell: Religion As A Natural Phenomenon
December 6th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I read this book and thought it was okay.
For some reason I found Dennett to be too wordy, and he had a tendency to beat around the bush. For example, I think he spent an entire chapter discussing whether or not the “spell” of religion was something that needed breaking.
I suppose people with a more philosophical bent would enjoy this book. Personally, I’d recommend Pascal Boyer’s “Religion Explained” over this book.