44 min listen
Robert McCauley - Why Religion is Natural (And Science is Not)
FromPoint of Inquiry
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Length:
37 minutes
Released:
Dec 5, 2011
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Host: Chris Mooney
Over the last decade, there have been many calls in the secular community for increased criticism of religion, and increased activism to help loosen its grip on the public.
But what if the human brain itself is aligned against that endeavor?
That's the argument made by cognitive scientist Robert McCauley in his new book, Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not.
In it, he lays out a cognitive theory about why our minds, from a very early state of development, seem predisposed toward religious belief—and not predisposed towards the difficult explanations and understandings that science offers.
If McCauley is right, spreading secularism and critical thinking may always be a difficult battle—although one no less worthy of undertaking.
Dr. McCauley is University Professor and Director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture at Emory University. He is also the author of Rethinking Religion and Bringing Ritual to Mind.
Over the last decade, there have been many calls in the secular community for increased criticism of religion, and increased activism to help loosen its grip on the public.
But what if the human brain itself is aligned against that endeavor?
That's the argument made by cognitive scientist Robert McCauley in his new book, Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not.
In it, he lays out a cognitive theory about why our minds, from a very early state of development, seem predisposed toward religious belief—and not predisposed towards the difficult explanations and understandings that science offers.
If McCauley is right, spreading secularism and critical thinking may always be a difficult battle—although one no less worthy of undertaking.
Dr. McCauley is University Professor and Director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture at Emory University. He is also the author of Rethinking Religion and Bringing Ritual to Mind.
Released:
Dec 5, 2011
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Eugenie Scott - Evolution vs. Religious Belief?: Eugenie Scott, a physical anthropologist, has been the director of the National Center for Science Education for nearly 20 years. A former president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, and a member of the American Association for... by Point of Inquiry