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Product Details
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st American edition, edition (February 7, 2011)
It's like this: I had become an atheist about a decade ahead of the New Atheist surge beginning roughly with the publication of Sam Harris's The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. In most of that time the only books I could find addressing the issues of atheism that interested me--after reading Hume and Russell and a couple others--were deplorable, dull, badly written and uninspired affairs. Which is a shame, and rather surprising since some of the best writers I know about are actually atheists (Douglas Adams springs to mind--his The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is wonderful fun).
But then came the New Atheist "revival," and with it, several interesting and enjoyable books. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. The God Delusion. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Several others.
And then it just all started feeling like too much. Each book started looking like just one more aspect of a dreary polemic about how god almost certainly doesn't exist. This is true. There is no cogent evidence whatsoever for the existence of a god, and several excellent reasons that argue AGAINST the existence of a god. But that's kind of dull, once you realize it.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that the LIFE of an atheist (this atheist, anyway) is dull or dreary. Not at all. But the TOPIC starts to feel almost as played as religion is.
There were a couple of works that took an approach and filled niches in ways that sparkled and stood out: The Atheist's Way: Living Well Without Gods, for example, and Letting Go of God. But most of the material being produced that was skeptical of religion or argued for atheism felt listless, pedantic, and unnecessary.
Bering's main thesis is the "theory of mind" - the trait that, among all species, humans alone possess. The theory depends on our evolved ability to:
1. Mind-read - to predict what others are thinking and what they're likely to do. 2. Participate in and dissect gossip (the most widespread hobby humans have). 3. Learn to co-operate or be ostracized by the group. 4. Contemplate our own mortality.
These evolved abilities were responsible for the cohesiveness of early humans and their ability to survive. Bering says a by-product was the "instinct" to believe in supernatural agents.
The theory is not his own but Bering makes good use of it in applying it to belief in gods. He says, "Theory of mind is as much a peculiar trademark of our species as is walking upright on two legs, learning a language, and raising offspring into their teens."
Aside: I might add, from personal experience, this last project can extend into the twenties or later.
Thing is, religion is not the major emphasis: the theory of mind is and it evolved simultaneously with language and religion. Commitment to religion - at least in the early evolution of humanity - wasn't even costly. It was a by-product and proved helpful in enforcing social compliance. It was part of the package.
As Bering writes about the evolution of the mind, he develops the idea of a "Belief Instinct." Many atheists believe that "religious ideas amount to a sort of cultural virus, the human brain being parasitized by virulent concepts that children catch like a bug from infected adults.Read more ›
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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
The Belief Instinct is an enjoyable book whose response to our basic belief system can be attributed to an understanding of the "theory of mind". Mr. Bering weaves an interesting narrative on how psychological illusions caused by the "theory of mind" gave our ancestors an evolutionary advantage. This 272-page book is composed of the following seven chapters: 1. The History of an Illusion, 2. A Life without Purpose, 3. Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs, 4. Curiously Immortal, 5. When God Throws People Off Bridges, 6. God as Adaptive, and 7. And Then You Die.
Positives: 1. An enjoyable, well-written, well-researched book that builds up an interesting theory to a satisfactory end. 2. Elegant prose, very conversational tone throughout. 3. Mr. Bering is a well-read author who doesn't hesitate to immerse quotes, anecdotes, studies smoothly into his narrative. 4. At times, though-provoking but never unintelligible. 5. "Teleo-functioning reasoning" explained. 6. Evolution of our cognitive systems. 7. Interesting look at autism. 8. The human penchant to see meaningful signs. 9. Many references to scientific studies sprinkled throughout book. 10. The idea of an afterlife guided by our intuitions. 11. The illusion of purpose. 12. A thorough and satisfactory explanation of the "theory of mind". 13. Human evolution lead by the coevolution of the theory of mind and language. 14. The impact of human gossip. 15. The cognitive illusion of "God". 16. Good use of links and an excellent comprehensive bibliography.
Negatives: 1. I really wanted to give this book 5 stars but I was a little disappointed in what was not included in the book versus what was in it.Read more ›
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This item: The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life
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