Why We Believe in God
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Amazon Review
'This book about the evolutionary drivers of religiosity would have delighted [Darwin].... One by one the components of religion receive the Thomson treatment. Every point he makes has the ring of truth, abetted by a crisp style and vivid imagery. Andy Thomson is an outstandingly persuasive lecturer, and it shines through his writing. This short, punchy book will be swiftly read—and long remembered.'
—Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, from the foreword of Why We Believe in God(s).
'Andy Thomson, with Clare Aukofer, has written a wonderfully concise introduction to our growing scientific understanding of religion. If you would like to learn, in the span of an hour, why we have every reason to believe that God is man-made—this is the book to read.'
—Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers The Moral Landscape, Letter to a Christian Nation, and The End of Faith.
—Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, from the foreword of Why We Believe in God(s).
'Andy Thomson, with Clare Aukofer, has written a wonderfully concise introduction to our growing scientific understanding of religion. If you would like to learn, in the span of an hour, why we have every reason to believe that God is man-made—this is the book to read.'
—Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers The Moral Landscape, Letter to a Christian Nation, and The End of Faith.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am an atheist and I've read and enjoyed several books on similar topics by Dawkins, Harris, Dennett and Hitchins but this is more like a school essay than a real analysis. The problem with the approach is that it takes huge liberties with the science it quotes; cutting corners, over-generalising, and pointing to the most facile findings as though they were deep insights. It all adds up to a very irritating read. I am not a scientist but even I can tell when someone is over-stating their case. For example, "Once our ancestors, however inadvertently, learned to create the chemistry that augments trust, love, cooperation, and selfishness, there was no turning back. Inevitably, those incredibly powerful chemical reactions supercharged the cognitive mechanisms that permit supernatural belief, and religion was launched." Beyond parody really. Just awful. Also - using the word 'utilise' instead of 'use' to sound more scientific is so annoying after about the 20th time!
83 of 90 people found the following review helpful
Format:Perfect Paperback
I've long wondered why intelligent people can have such irrational religious beliefs, and after reading this book I now have a better understanding. Thomson and Aukofer offer insightful analogies from different fields to explain why it was inevitable that humans would create gods. I was fascinated to see arguments and examples about why "belief" can be more compelling than "truth," and why some people have trouble distinguishing one from the other. This book will give religious believers and atheists alike something new to think about, and they will better understand not only what they believe, but why they believe as they do.
45 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Perfect Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a really interesting read. The ideas in it aren't exactly new, but they have been explained very well and I definitely recommend it to anyone who may be new to this subject. Not only because it is very easy to read, but because it is a short book which will take only hours to complete. A nice ease into the topic I think. As someone who has been reading this kind of material for years, I found that I breezed through it but I still really enjoyed it, thus I also recommend this to readers who are not new to the topic. The topic being, of course...why us humans are so susceptible to believing in gods etc - and as the book demonstrates....there are several reasons....all equally fascinating.
I recommend it to people of faith and also the non religious...it's important that we understand this topic, whether we choose to believe or not. I also really recommend this to anyone very keen on psychology as it is largely a psychological issue.
A good read.
I recommend it to people of faith and also the non religious...it's important that we understand this topic, whether we choose to believe or not. I also really recommend this to anyone very keen on psychology as it is largely a psychological issue.
A good read.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Reader Beware!
For anyone who might (like me) have come to this page because they saw only "Richard Dawkins'" name under "thumbnail" listing, and overlooked the author listing under the title:... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Karl
2.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely Concise
This hardly deserves to be described as a book. While the content is OK it is in fact little more than a pamphlet and really cannot justify its exhorbitant price!
Published 9 months ago by M. R. F. Matthews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good study
The book is packed with loads of good conclusions, even though some conclusions seem a bit shabby, e.g. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Petri
4.0 out of 5 stars
not bad
I do like this book. it basically lists a number of human brain mechanisms which have led us to believe in things which are not there. Read more
Published 15 months ago by MCKEE
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gods and bogeymen
This short, readable and eminently sensible book is a welcome antidote to today's ongoing hysterical (or cynical) claims by right-wing politicians and religious leaders that... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Sceptical humanist
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Great book, powerful tool for someone who needs to argue with religious person... Very good reading. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Ads
5.0 out of 5 stars
Concise and systematic
I brought this book after watching the youtube presentation on the Richard Dawkins channel with the same title. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Strangestdude
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith
Well this book certainly does what it says in the subtitle (used as the title for this comment)!
I enjoyed reading this book, and whilst much material is not entirely... Read more
I enjoyed reading this book, and whilst much material is not entirely... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Simian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing book, brings so much to mind
Absolutely amazing book. It's only small, but it's very well thought out and ram packed with information. Read more
Published 19 months ago by GPSJim
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting
I found the book very interesting and relatively easy to read.
Maybe it didn't have a much content as I would have hoped, but
earlier reviews did state this so I suppose... Read more
Maybe it didn't have a much content as I would have hoped, but
earlier reviews did state this so I suppose... Read more
Published 20 months ago by suejb
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