Open and closed minds alike will find much to ponder: Conceiving God

Recent years have seen a growing tension between religion and science as more and more people have asked themselves a fundamental question: is there a supernatural realm that intervenes in the material world of daily life? To many it certainly feels so – but what if the religious impulse has another, perfectly rational, explanation?

Building on the insights and discoveries of his two earlier books, The Mind in the Cave and Inside the Neolithic Mind, cognitive archaeologist David Lewis – Williams explores how science developed within the coon of religion and then shows how the natural functioning of the human brain creates experiences that can lead to belief in a supernatural realm. Such belief gives rise to creeds, a development examined here in the light of critical episodes in world history, from rivalries between Platonists and Aristotelians, or the conversion of St Paul and Constantine, to the discoveries of Charles Darwin.

David Lewis-Williams is Professor Emeritus and Senior Mentor in the Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

See video of the author talking about his book…

Conceiving God

The Cognitive Origin and Evolution of Religion

1. David Lewis-Williams
2. [Thames and Hudson]