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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief (2006)

de Lewis Wolpert

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357871,633 (3.42)8
A groundbreaking book, examining the evolutionary origins of belief.
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This is an interesting book. The author freely admits that the 'evidence' he presents is lacking. Often times I got to thinking about the examples cited and completely lost track of the central theme of the book. It is thought provoking, but it is a quick overview and not an in depth analysis.

( )
  talon2claw | Dec 31, 2022 |
Wolpert puts forth the theory that tool use in early humans caused causal thinking, which in turn caused both higher thought processes as well as belief systems. It's an interesting idea. I liked this book, although a lot of the material Wolpert went over was stuff I already knew from my college psychology classes. But for anyone unfamiliar with the psychology of belief this would make a great intro as well as presenting a new idea. I liked it. ( )
  SwitchKnitter | Jul 8, 2011 |
If you want to know why many people ignore rational scientific explanations in favour of mysticism and religion, this is a book definitely worth the read. The hypotheses of this scientific examination of the basis of human belief, is that humans developed their belief systems in concert with their ability to make tools. This requirement to understand cause and effect in order to make tools also makes humans seek a causal reason for existence and so on. He shows the reader that beliefs are part of our biological makeup and genetically printed onto our brains – some of course much more than others.

Although Wolpert presents his scientific hypothesis in a persuasive and logical manner, he manages to keep a tone of respect and restraint when discussing the evolution of psychology and belief systems, recognizing and acknowledging contemporaries who hold the current superstitions of our society. It is his displays of tolerance which appeal to the layman, avoiding conflict and absolutism while still holding firmly onto his opinions. He also avoids falling into the trap of treating the subject with lengthy academic mind-bending arguments, leaving the book accessible to a very wide reader-ship.

Wolpert touches on many different facets of belief – including health (naturopathy, psychotherapy and other parasciences), paranormal phenomena, false beliefs such as mental illness and myths, morality, science and religion.

There are lots of anecdotal illustrations to add to his gentle arguments. I found the arguments in the science chapter very well done. He explains why it is so difficult to comprehend science and says:

“Almost without exception, any common-sense view of the world is scientifically false. Obvious examples are the movement of the sun with respect to the earth…………No matter where one looks in science, its ideas confound common sense….”

He goes on to argue that man seeks a causal explanation for events in his life – such as ‘I went out in the cold and this caused my flu….” However, he presents his views in such a tolerant manner, that I almost wished that I could rescind my atheism and take comfort from a belief system such as religion, as his own son does. He says:

“…..people have the right to hold whatever beliefs appeal to them, but with a fundamental provision that those beliefs must be reliable if they lead to actions that affect the lives of other people.”

Wolpert puts forward many interesting arguments for his own scientific belief system. The main criticism of the book must be the editorial laxity – with quite a few clumsy sentences and in fact one or two non-sentences. My favourite chapters were the ones dealing with science and health, which for me came across with absolute clarity of reasoning. It was very reassuring. The religious and mythical arguments were gentle and logical, in keeping with the more didactic approach of Dawkins and others.

In the end his message is clear. He says:

"The freedom to have beliefs is very important, but it carries with it the obligation to carefully examine the evidence for them."


Highly recommended. ( )
  kiwidoc | May 17, 2008 |
In this book Lewis Wolpert tackles the nature of belief. An English biology professor explores belief's psychological basis and its possible evolutionary origins in physical cause and effect.

Motivated by his youngest son’s conversion to a fundamentalist Christian Church began an exploration of the scientific basis for people’s belief about causal beliefs.

Wolpert argues all human belief stems an understanding of cause and effect. Deftly argued cogently written, he argues that although religious and mystical beliefs give comfort and meaning to life, science is the best way of understanding how the world works. Yet, he stops short of providing an explanation for the questions science cannot answer. To me, those answers are only found in religion.

He states we have to both respect the beliefs of others and accept the responsibility to change to try to change them if they are improbable. I agree. In my mind, science reveals the beauty and complexity with which the world was created. Yet, its Big Bang theory - in which Wolpert professes belief – provides a fragmentary, incomplete answer.

The freedom to reach and hold beliefs is vital to me and society. Yet it carries with it the responsibility to examine their origins and foundations. I disagree with Wolpert’s conclusions, but I was challenged, informed and entertained by reading his book.

Penned by the Pointed Pundit
February 12, 2007
09:53:05 ( )
  PointedPundit | Mar 23, 2008 |
Having believed more than my share of impossible things, I’ve become very interested in the thinking processes behind matters of belief. Evolutionary biologist Wolpert tackles this subject from a different angle than many in his field. Wolpert proposes that our development of tool use created a heavy mental emphasis on the relationship between cause and effect. While searching for cause and effect in the natural world has served us well in such fields as science and technology, not being able to find a cause for an effect is apparently so vexing to the brain that it has proven more than willing to simply make one up when necessary.

There’s a litany of interesting studies cited in this book in support of these arguments, but Wolpert rarely goes into detail as he discusses everything from complex tool use in ravens to retention rates in Moon’s Unification Church. This left me wanting a lot more information at times and also makes the reading a bit dense. Still, I learned a great deal about how the brain functions in relationship to various topics. The book is well organized, with each chapter addressing issues on a theme ranging from belief development in children to the persistence of beliefs in the paranormal despite the lack of evidence to how scientific beliefs differ from other kinds of beliefs. Very useful for anyone interested in how we think and why we believe what we do.
( )
  Lenaphoenix | Sep 7, 2007 |
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A groundbreaking book, examining the evolutionary origins of belief.

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