Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.BREAKING THE SPELL: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon DANIEL C. DENNETT Religion and science can be considered mutually exclusive Adj. 1. mutually exclusive - unable to be both true at the same time contradictory incompatible - not compatible; "incompatible personalities"; "incompatible colors" ways of viewing the world. But what would happen if the explicative ex·pli·ca·tive adj. Serving to explain; explanatory. ex  pli·ca power of
science were applied to religion? Can it be done? Should it be done?
Philosopher Dennett, author of the Pulitzer Prize--nominated book
Darwin's Dangerous Idea, dares to address these questions and more
in this unusual volume. He attempts to analyze religion from the
perspective of the dispassionate dis·pas·sion·ate adj. Devoid of or unaffected by passion, emotion, or bias. See Synonyms at fair1. dis·pas observer, delving into its cultural and psychological origins, its careful cultivation cultivation, tilling or manipulation of the soil, done primarily to eliminate weeds that compete with crops for water and nutrients. Cultivation may be used in crusted soils to increase soil aeration and infiltration of water; it may also be used to move soil to or over millennia, its dissemination dissemination Medtalk The spread of a pernicious process–eg, CA, acute infection Oncology Metastasis, see there within and among populations, and its role in forming allegiances among peoples and nations. Dennett ponders whether religion is good for people and whether it should form the basis of morality. In the end, the author asserts a pressing need to protect democracy and free thought from people who threaten human rights on the basis of blind religious faith. Penguin, 2006, 464 p., hardcover, $25.95. |
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