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Jesse Bering

The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life Hardcover – February 7, 2011

by Jesse Bering (Author)

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Top 25 Books of 2011 by the American Library Association, Choice Reviews
Named one of the 11 Best Psychology Books of 2011 by The Atlantic

"A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic." ―Nature

Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death.

In this lively and masterfully argued new book, Jesse Bering unveils the psychological underpinnings of why we believe. Combining lucid accounts of surprising new studies with insights into literature, philosophy, and even pop culture, Bering gives us a narrative that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. He sheds light on such topics as our search for a predestined life purpose, our desire to read divine messages into natural disasters and other random occurrences, our visions of the afterlife, and our curiosity about how moral and immoral behavior are rewarded or punished in this life.

Bering traces all of these beliefs and desires to a single trait of human psychology, known as the "theory of mind," which enables us to guess at the intentions and thoughts of others. He then takes this groundbreaking argument one step further, revealing how the instinct to believe in God and other unknowable forces gave early humans an evolutionary advantage. But now that these psychological illusions have outlasted their evolutionary purpose, Bering draws our attention to a whole new challenge: escaping them.

Thanks to Bering's insight and wit, The Belief Instinct will reward readers with an enlightened understanding of the universal human tendency to believe-and the tools to break free.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

February 7, 2011
Dimensions

6.5 x 1 x 9.6 inches
ISBN-10

0393072991
ISBN-13

978-0393072990
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Witty... [Bering] employs examples and analogies that make his arguments seem like common sense rather than the hard-earned scientific insights they really are."
― New Scientist

"A colorful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture."
― New Humanist

"A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic."
― Nature

"Bering ranges comfortably among evolutionary biology, psychology and philosophical concerns, and finds the good science in belief."
― Kirkus Reviews

"Jesse Bering is a brilliant young psychologist, a gifted storyteller, a careful reader of Jean-Paul Sartre, and a very funny man. And his first book, The Belief Instinct, is a triumph-a moving, provocative, and entertaining exploration of the human search for meaning."
― Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology, Yale University

About the Author

Jesse Bering, Ph.D., is a frequent contributor to Scientific American, Slate, and Das Magazin. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Guardian, and The New Republic, and has been featured on NPR, the BBC, Playboy Radio, and more. Bering is the former director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at Queen's University, Belfast, and began his career as a professor at the University of Arkansas. He lives near Ithaca, New York.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st American edition (February 7, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393072991
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393072990
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #837,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,975 in Medical Cognitive Psychology
- #3,108 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
- #210,460 in Religion & Spirituality (Books)

Customer Reviews:
101 ratings

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Jesse Bering

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Jesse Bering is an experimental psychologist and a leading scholar in the cognitive science of religion. He is also an essayist and science writer specializing in evolution and human behavior. His first book, The Belief Instinct (W. W. Norton, 2011), was included in the American Library Association’s Top 25 Books of the Year and voted one of the “11 Best Psychology Books of 2011” by The Atlantic. This was followed by a collection of his Webby-award nominated essays, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2012), and Perv (2013, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), a taboo-breaking work that received widespread critical acclaim and was named as a New York Times Editor’s Choice. His most recent book was A Very Human Ending (Doubleday, 2018).

Bering’s writings have been translated into many different languages and reviewed in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and many other outlets. He has also been featured in numerous documentaries and radio programs, including Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Conan, Chelsea Lately, Q&A (Australia), and NPR’s All Things Considered.

Bering is Director of the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago. He lives in Dunedin, New Zealand with his partner, Juan, and their two cheeky border terriers, Hanno and Kora.

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4 star		17%
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2 star		3%
1 star		5%

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Bryan Carey

Why Do We Believe in the Supernatural?

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2020

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Why do we believe in higher powers, in creation, and the like? It is a question for the ages and one that likely will never be settled completely. It is also the topic of discussion in this book, The Belief Instinct.

The basic premise of the book is that humans are the only creatures that have evolved to the point where perceive the minds that surround us, and thus we are the only creatures that believe in a higher power. This Theory of Mind is referenced several times throughout the book and is used to help explain why we humans think the way we do when it comes to spirituality,

I have read similar books to the Belief Instinct in the past, but this book stands out for several reasons. I like the approach it takes to the subject of belief and I like the examples it provides. It may surprise people to discover, for example, that even diehard non- believers will still reference belief in the supernatural from time to time. This backs up the book’s main idea, which is the fact that beliefs seem to be instinctual and a part of the human psyche. We cannot completely escape this tendency, no matter how hard we try.

Another aspect of this book that I really like and appreciate is that it maintains a respectful tone throughout. Even though it is clear that the position the book takes is from a position of non- belief, the book is still respectful of those who do not share its position. This is better than other books on this same topic, many of which directly ridicule anyone who believes in God, the afterlife, etc. With such a respectful tone, anyone can read this book without feeling offended. And those who are presently grounded in their theistic ways could very well come away from the reading with a new perspective on the subject.

Well- written and thought- provoking, the Belief Instinct is a worthwhile read and while much of what it discusses has been talked about before and by countless other authors, it is still a good read overall. The explanations, examples, anecdotes, etc will get anyone thinking about their own belief system and how fragile- and generally unfounded- a belief in supernatural beings truly is.

5 people found this helpful

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M. Winther

God as adaptive illusion

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2016

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This book, without resort to conventional atheism, explains the nature of our religious and supernatural beliefs. It is highly recommendable. Jesse Bering explains that our superstitious intuitions depend on humanity's evolved capacity to reason about the unobservable mental states of other beings. This is unique to mankind and is called "theory of mind". However, we do not only interpret the mind-states of persons, but also of animals, artifacts, and natural events.

Such ideas are not simply errant ways of thought invented by religious charismatics. In fact, it is part of our nature to think in a religious way. According to Bering, "culture develops and decorates the innate psychological building blocks of religious belief" (Kindle Loc.1835). These are adaptive illusions, because being observed by a supernatural audience promoted inhibitory decisions against ancestral biological drives, which in turn bolstered reproductive success. After all, being "good" would have been highly adaptive, especially since our verbal capacity of gossip often has the consequence of ostracism. Supernatural reasoning has served to restrain our selfish and impulsive behaviour, since it undermines the anonymity of the situation (cf. Kindle Loc.2844f). Says Bering:

"The cognitive illusion of an ever-present and keenly observant God worked for our genes, and that's reason enough for nature to have kept the illusion vividly alive in human brains." (Kindle Loc.2912f)

So this is an entirely different take than the hard-hat kind of atheism as represented by Richard Dawkins, for instance. According to Bering, God is an adaptive illusion, which means that the notion has been functional in human history. This opens up the question whether supernatural beliefs should be regarded *psychologically* real, since they have a pronounced effect on psychic and social life. After all, that which works is usually regarded real. Comparatively, our self-conscious ego is an illusion created by the brain. Although we know this, few people question the reality of their own ego. (This review has largely been retrieved from my article on synchronicity.)

Mats Winther

9 people found this helpful

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Morgan

Debunking our Precious Illusions

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2013

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This book is a fascinating exploration of what drives human beings to believe in all kinds of ludicrous ideas, like destiny, purpose, meaning, and god. Most shocking of all is the dawning understanding that evolution has actually wired our brains to indulge in such delusional thinking. The book could be described as an in-depth analysis of Theory of Mind: the uniquely human capacity to understand that other people and creatures have mental states, or subjective experiences. This ability causes us to see purpose, intelligence, and intentionality in just about everything. What started as a social skill to help us survive in small tribal organizations has become a fundamental building block of how we perceive reality itself. Mr. Bering does an excellent job of fleshing out his arguments and covers the topic quite extensively. A slight warning is necessary, however: do not read this book until you are completely ready to abandon every last scap of magical thinking that you have heretofore indulged in. It's conclusions can be depressing, but this must be tempered with the realization that no one perspective on reality encompasses the whole picture. If nothing else, it's the best book on Theory of Mind that I've yet found.

15 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

K. Philip Harrison

Entertaining and provocative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2014

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We develop the ability to predict the reactions of other people, even when those people are absent. From this simple statement, Bering investigates the implications for our psychologically, socially and culturally constructed beliefs in everrything from ghosts to God. The result is a well-reasoned and stimulating read, drawing heavily from research on both sides of the Atlantic.

He is especially good on 'the intoxicating pull of destiny beliefs' and in using research with children at different ages to demonstrate the development of the idea of the unknown, unseen viewer.

My one caveat is that the book came out before recent neurological research has demonstrated the inherent rewards of social behaviour. However, such research merely reinforces his core arguments.

A good read.

One person found this helpful

Ross

Excellent, thoughtful and entertaining read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 6, 2011

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I really enjoyed this book. I am somebody who takes a fair bit of interest in psychology of religion discussions and found Bering's book extremely accessible. It is written with humour, humility and intelligence. His conclusions may not be pleasing or make comfortable reading for theists; however his argument does not make necessarily comfortable reading for agnostics or atheists either! Significantly, Bering distances himself from the Dawkins-type argument that sees religion as some sort of erroneous misfiring. Rather, Bering proposes an interesting theory about religion which places it firmly within the epic narrative of evolution. I particularly enjoyed reading the empirical work which he and others have engaged in with respect to theory of mind research. As a student of pyschology I was especially intrigued by the 'Princess Alice' experiments which are discussed within these pages.

This book is easy to read, entertaining and one of the better books of its type out there on the market. Enjoy!

8 people found this helpful

Martin Snellgrove

Delivered promptly in good condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2018

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Delivered promptly in good condition and as described. Interesting a readable. Of value to someone who professes faith even though written by someone who doesn't.

Amazon Customer

Thoughtful and incisive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2013

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A very thought provoking and intelligent analysis of human behaviour. The explanations of why humans have been and are still attracted to religion, should make you question any religious beliefs you have and put your mind at ease that religion is entirely imaginary and can be safely abandoned.

Bob

This is an excellent analysis of human characteristics and the reality that once ...

Reviewed in Australia on June 6, 2018

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This is an excellent analysis of human characteristics and the reality that once people recognised that they had a conscious existence, they realised a need to establish a purpose for living and they hoped there was some way for life to continue after the death of the physical body. As Jesse Bering illustrates this realisation became an instinct for survival very similar to any other instinct such as the need to protect oneself from the elements or from enemies, to eat and breathe and to raise offspring.

I would recommend this book to anyone willing to explore the nature of the human being as one of the many species of animals existing on this planet.

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