Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief - Hardcover
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About the Author:
Lewis Wolpert is a distinguished embryologist and an accomplished broadcaster. He is the author of A Passion for Science and Passionate Minds (with Alison Richards), and The Triumph of the Embryo. For Faber, he has written The Unnatural Nature of Science and Malignant Sadness.
From Publishers Weekly:
Why do we avoid walking under ladders or breaking mirrors? Why do many people believe that illness is related to wrongdoing? Wolpert, a professor of biology as applied to medicine at University College, London, attempts to answer these and other questions in his marvelously funny and provocative study of the nature of belief. He argues that our beliefs—whether everyday ones or religious ones—offer fundamental explanations of the causes and effects of events. Our beliefs thus become a way of guiding our actions as well as a means of judging others' actions. Taking a page from evolutionary psychology, the author contends that belief has its origin in the human development of language and of tools and their uses. Once our early ancestors made the connection between certain causes and effects—such as a flint causing fire—their discoveries led to other cause-and-effect beliefs. Wolpert also discusses how brain abnormalities, hypnosis and psychedelic drugs can lead to false beliefs, and he concludes that religious belief sometimes falls into this category. While he doesn't discount religious belief, Wolpert says that science offers the most reliable beliefs about how the world works. Wolpert's reflections ask us to reconsider how we look at the world every day. (Jan.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherFaber and Faber
- Publication date2006
- ISBN 10 0571209203
- ISBN 13 9780571209200
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages288
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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Faber and Faber
(2006)
ISBN 10: 0571209203
ISBN 13: 9780571209200
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780571209200
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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(2006)
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ISBN 13: 9780571209200
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: the Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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(2006)
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Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief
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(2006)
ISBN 10: 0571209203
ISBN 13: 9780571209200
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