We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.
The God Instinct explores how people’s everyday thoughts, behaviours and emotions betray an innate tendency to reason as though God were deeply invested in their public lives and secret affairs.
In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, Jesse Bering unravels the evolutionary mystery of why we grapple for meaning, purpose and destiny in life. He argues that God is not merely an idea to be entertained or discarded based on the evidence. Nor is God a cultural invention, an existential band-aid, an opiate of the masses. Instead, Bering proposes, God is a way of thinking – one that evolved through our ancestors, millions of years ago, to keep us in check and give us the edge on our competitors.
While a belief in higher forces may seem ridiculous to some, The God Instinct shows that it is hardwired into our genetic make-up, and carries with it massive evolutionary benefits.
In this entertaining and thought-provoking book, Jesse Bering unravels the evolutionary mystery of why we grapple for meaning, purpose and destiny in life. He argues that God is not merely an idea to be entertained or discarded based on the evidence. Nor is God a cultural invention, an existential band-aid, an opiate of the masses. Instead, Bering proposes, God is a way of thinking – one that evolved through our ancestors, millions of years ago, to keep us in check and give us the edge on our competitors.
While a belief in higher forces may seem ridiculous to some, The God Instinct shows that it is hardwired into our genetic make-up, and carries with it massive evolutionary benefits.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Blending empirical evidence from seminal research with literary allusions and cultural critique, Bering examines the central tenets of spirituality, from life's purpose to the notion of an afterlife, in a socio-theological context underlined by the rigor of a serious scientist.
A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic, [Bering] explains why this religious trait has evolutionary benefits and why it sets us apart from other animals.
Witty, crammed with pop-culture references... his arguments seem like common sense rather than the hard-earned scientific insights they really are. This fascinating book presents gentle, nuanced but convincing arguments for atheism.
Eloquently argued and engagingly written.
Since God didn't exist, our human ancestors found it necessary to invent him. In this scintillating book, Jesse Bering explains, with characteristic wit and wisdom, how, in the course of human evolution, God returned the compliment -- by helping individuals, despite themselves, lead better lives.
A lovely read, wise and fascinating.
Why do human beings instinctively need a god to believe in? Evolutionary psychologist Jesse Bering's unravelling of an old riddle is subtle, intelligent and surprisingly readable.