Dennett's Breaking the Spell http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism-thaxis/2006-February/019846.html
Charles Brown cbrown at michiganlegal.org Wed Feb 1 07:58:48 MST 2006 Previous message: [Marxism-Thaxis] www.darwin.ws Next message: [Marxism-Thaxis] Philipp Frank: historical background Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Dumain I suspect this is bullshit, but what do you think? Breaking the Spell : Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067003472X/qid=1138785320/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs _b_2_1/002-9455841-5053647?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 >From Publishers Weekly In his characteristically provocative fashion, Dennett, author of Darwin's Dangerous Idea and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, calls for a scientific, rational examination of religion that will lead us to understand what purpose religion serves in our culture. ^^^ CB: Well, today religion is not biologically or evolutionarily functioning ,as "ancestor worship" would have been highly adaptive in relation to the environment of the first humans. Rather today religion is as Feuerbach and Marx analyzed it, and then of course it is big in the class struggle, dividing the working class in countries and internationally. The current U.S. war on Islam is , obviously front and center in capitalist strategy for continuing to dominate the world. So, now I see a way in which the Dawkins and Dennetts' vulgar biological determinism diverts from anti-capitalist struggle. ^^^^^ Much like E.O. Wilson (In Search of Nature), Robert Wright (The Moral Animal), and Richard Dawkins (The Selfish Gene), Dennett explores religion as a cultural phenomenon governed by the processes of evolution and natural selection. Religion survives because it has some kind of beneficial role in human life, yet Dennett argues that it has also played a maleficent role. He elegantly pleads for religions to engage in empirical self-examination to protect future generations from the ignorance so often fostered by religion hiding behind doctrinal smoke screens. Because Dennett offers a tentative proposal for exploring religion as a natural phenomenon, his book is sometimes plagued by generalizations that leave us wanting more ("Only when we can frame a comprehensive view of the many aspects of religion can we formulate defensible policies for how to respond to religions in the future"). Although much of the ground he covers has already been well trod, he clearly throws down a gauntlet to religion. (Feb. 6) Copyright C Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
