Supernatural Selection

Author : Matt Rossano
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780199798780
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Supernatural Selection written by Matt Rossano and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-05-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2006, scientist Richard Dawkins published a blockbuster bestseller, The God Delusion. This atheist manifesto sparked a furious reaction from believers, who have responded with numerous books of their own. By pitting science against religion, however, this debate overlooks what science can tell us about religion. According to evolutionary psychologist Matt J. Rossano, what science reveals is that religion made us human. In Supernatural Selection, Rossano presents an evolutionary history of religion. Neither an apologist for religion nor a religion-basher, he draws together evidence from a wide range of disciplines to show the valuable--even essential--adaptive purpose served by systematic belief in the supernatural. The roots of religion stretch as far back as half a million years, when our ancestors developed the motor control to engage in social rituals--that is, to sing and dance together. Then, about 70,000 years ago, a global ecological crisis drove humanity to the edge of extinction. It forced the survivors to create new strategies for survival, and religious rituals were foremost among them. Fundamentally, Rossano writes, religion is a way for humans to relate to each other and the world around them--and, in the grim struggles of prehistory, it offered significant survival and reproductive advantages. It emerged as our ancestors' first health care system, and a critical part of that health care system was social support. Religious groups tended to be far more cohesive, which gave them a competitive advantage over non-religious groups, and enabled them to conquer the globe. Rather than focusing on one aspect of religion, as many theorists do, Rossano offers an all-encompassing approach that is rich with surprises, insights, and provocative conclusions.

Author : Lyle B. Steadman
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317251156
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Supernatural and Natural Selection written by Lyle B. Steadman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-11-17 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning many different epochs and varieties of religious experience, this book develops a new approach to religion and its role in human history. The authors look across a range of religious phenomena-from ancestor worship to totemism, shamanism, and worldwide modern religions-to offer a new explanation of the evolutionary success of religious behaviors. Their book is more empirical and verifiable than most previous books on evolution and religion because they develop an approach that removes guesswork about beliefs in the supernatural, focusing instead on the behaviors of individuals. The result is a pioneering look at how and why natural selection has favored religious behaviors throughout history.

Author : Matt Rossano
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199750777
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.71/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Supernatural Selection written by Matt Rossano and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-06-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2006, scientist Richard Dawkins published a blockbuster bestseller, The God Delusion. This atheist manifesto sparked a furious reaction from believers, who have responded with numerous books of their own. By pitting science against religion, however, this debate overlooks what science can tell us about religion. According to evolutionary psychologist Matt J. Rossano, what science reveals is that religion made us human. In Supernatural Selection, Rossano presents an evolutionary history of religion. Neither an apologist for religion nor a religion-basher, he draws together evidence from a wide range of disciplines to show the valuable--even essential--adaptive purpose served by systematic belief in the supernatural. The roots of religion stretch as far back as half a million years, when our ancestors developed the motor control to engage in social rituals--that is, to sing and dance together. Then, about 70,000 years ago, a global ecological crisis drove humanity to the edge of extinction. It forced the survivors to create new strategies for survival, and religious rituals were foremost among them. Fundamentally, Rossano writes, religion is a way for humans to relate to each other and the world around them--and, in the grim struggles of prehistory, it offered significant survival and reproductive advantages. It emerged as our ancestors' first health care system, and a critical part of that health care system was social support. Religious groups tended to be far more cohesive, which gave them a competitive advantage over non-religious groups, and enabled them to conquer the globe. Rather than focusing on one aspect of religion, as many theorists do, Rossano offers an all-encompassing approach that is rich with surprises, insights, and provocative conclusions.

Author : E.J. Russell
Publisher : Reality Optional Press
ISBN 13 : 1947033735
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Single White Incubus written by E.J. Russell and published by Reality Optional Press. This book was released on 2018-10-22 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : E.J. Russell
Publisher : Reality Optional Press
ISBN 13 : 1947033751
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.57/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Vampire with Benefits written by E.J. Russell and published by Reality Optional Press. This book was released on 2018-11-16 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Ellen Datlow
Publisher : Open Road Media
ISBN 13 : 1504082729
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Supernatural Noir written by Ellen Datlow and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixteen tales that combine the otherworldly with hardboiled crime fiction—from Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Paul G. Tremblay, Melanie Tem, and others. Here are the femme fatales, the tough guys, the down-on-their-luck detectives—but with a twist. Collected by Hugo and Bram Stoker Award–winning editor Ellen Datlow, these stories of the murderous and macabre will take you onto the dark streets of worlds unlike our own, where the monstrous stalk their prey. At the behest of a beautiful blonde client, a small-town East Texas private eye is drawn into a case of grave robbing by someone—or something—with an unholy interest in “Dead Sister” by Joe R. Lansdale. Elizabeth Bear’s “The Romance” takes partygoers on a wild ride when the centerpiece of a birthday celebration turns out to be a haunted merry-go-round. After robbing a pawnshop, a group of small-time crooks get their shocking comeuppance as they flee the scene in “The Getaway” by Paul G. Tremblay. “Little Shit” by Melanie Tem follows a college student with a very unique skill set as she makes money on the side taking down criminals. Supernatural Noir also includes bone-chilling tales from Lucius Shepard, Laird Barron, Brian Evenson, Gregory Frost, Richard Bowes, Jeffrey Ford, Lee Thomas, Tom Piccirilli, Nate Southard, Nick Mamatas, and John Langan. “This anthology has some of the most exciting fiction published in 2011. This is fiction that will make you uncomfortable, that will haunt you, that will show up in your dreams. . . . Horrifyingly wonderful.” —Fantasy Literature

Author : Jennifer Toledo
Publisher : Charisma Media
ISBN 13 : 1616386061
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Children and the Supernatural written by Jennifer Toledo and published by Charisma Media. This book was released on 2012 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Toledo examines reports of numerous radical God-encounters experienced by children after they were taught about the power of the Holy Spirit: visions, miracles, travail, prophetic evangelism, marketplace intercession, and prophecy.

Author : Robert T. Pennock
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262661241
Total Pages : 834 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics written by Robert T. Pennock and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2001-12-21 with total page 834 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last decade saw the arrival of a new player in the creation/evolution debate—the intelligent design creationism (IDC) movement, whose strategy is to act as "the wedge" to overturn Darwinism and scientific naturalism. This anthology of writings by prominent creationists and their critics focuses on what is novel about the new movement. It serves as a companion to Robert Pennock's Tower of Babel, in which he criticizes the wedge movement, as well as other new varieties of creationism. The book contains articles previously published in specialized, hard-to-find journals, as well as new contributions. Each section contains introductory background information, articles by influential creationists and their critics, and in some cases responses by the creationists. The discussions cover IDC as a political movement, IDC's philosophical attack on evolution, the theological debate over the apparent conflict between evolution and the Bible, IDC's scientific claims, and philosopher Alvin Plantinga's critique of naturalism and evolution. The book concludes with Pennock's "Why Creationism Should Not Be Taught in the Public Schools."

Author : Wilkie Collins
Publisher : Courier Corporation
ISBN 13 : 0486203077
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Tales of Terror and the Supernatural written by Wilkie Collins and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 1972-01-01 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve supernatural tales are accompanied by a discussion of Collins' life and literary achievements

Author : Marit Weisenberg
Publisher : Charlesbridge Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1632896427
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.21/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Select written by Marit Weisenberg and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern-day young adult retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with a supernatural twist that will appeal to fans of Ally Condie’s Matched and Kiera Cass’ The Selection Julia Jaynes has the perfect life. The perfect family. The perfect destiny. The daughter of a billionaire investor in Austin, Texas, it looks like Julia has it all. But there's something rotten beneath the surface—dangerous secrets her father is keeping; abilities she was never meant to have; and an elite society of highly evolved people who care nothing for the rest of humanity. So when Julia accidentally jeopardizes the delicate anonymity of her people, she's banished to the one place meant to make her feel inferior: public high school. Julia's goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him—John Ford. He’s popular, quiet, intense, and strangely compelling. Then Julia discovers she can read his mind and her world expands. Their forbidden love is powerful enough to break the conditioning that has kept Julia in the cold grip of her manipulative father. For the first time, Julia develops a sense of self and questions her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide how she will define herself—and whom she will betray.