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Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

Book by Pascal Boyer · 5 quotes · Cognition, Evolutionary Psychology, Ancestral Bias

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Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought Quotes

“The journalistic cliché that this is the -information age- is misleading if it suggests that in the past, either recent or distant, we did not depend on information.”

Mind Information Evolution Evolutionary Psychology Homo Sapiens Ancestry Cognition

Book:Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

Source: Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

“There is no human society without some musical tradition. Although the traditions are very different, some principles can be found everywhere.”

Music Evolution Evolutionary Psychology Homo Sapiens Ancestry Cognition

Book:Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

Source: Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

“Having concepts of gods and spirits does not really make moral rules more compelling but it sometimes makes them more intelligible. So we do not have gods because that makes society function. We have gods in part because we have the mental equipment that makes society possible but we cannot always understand how society functions.”

Society Evolution Morality Evolutionary Psychology Homo Sapiens Ancestry Cognition

Book:Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

Source: Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

“Societies have religion because social cohesion requires something like religion. Social groups would fall apart if ritual did not periodically reestablish that all members are part of a greater whole.”

Society Evolution Evolutionary Psychology Homo Sapiens Ancestry Cognition

Book:Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

Source: Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

“Social exchange is certainly among the oldest of human behaviors, as humans have depended on sharing and exchanging resources for a very long time.”

Society Evolution Social Change Evolutionary Psychology Homo Sapiens Ancestry Cognition

Book:Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought

Source: Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought