Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2009) |
![]() | |
Author | Daniel C. Dennett |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Psychology of religion |
Publisher | Viking (Penguin) |
Publication date | 2006 |
Media type | |
ISBN | 978-0-14-303833-7 |
Dewey Decimal | 200 22 |
LC Class | BL2775.3 .D46 2006 |
Preceded by | Sweet Dreams |
Part of a series on |
Irreligion |
---|
|
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book by American philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett, in which the author argues that religion is in need of scientific analysis so that its nature and future may be better understood. The "spell" that requires "breaking" is not religious belief itself but the belief that it is off-limits to or beyond scientific inquiry.[1]
Synopsis[]
The book is divided into three parts. Dennett's working definition of religions is: "social systems whose participants avow belief in a supernatural agent or agents whose approval is to be sought". He notes that this definition is "a place to start, not something carved in stone".
Part I[]
Part I discusses the motivation and justification for the entire project: Can science study religion? Should science study religion?
Part II[]
After answering in the affirmative, Part II proceeds to use the tools of evolutionary biology and memetics to suggest possible theories regarding the origin of religion and subsequent evolution of modern religions from ancient folk beliefs.
Part III[]
Part III analyzes religion and its effects in today's world: Does religion make us moral? Is religion what gives meaning to life? What should we teach the children? Dennett bases much of his analysis on empirical evidence, though he often points out that much more research in this field is needed.
Critical reception[]
The book has received differing reviews from various consumer, mass media outlets.
The Guardian[]
The Guardian's Andrew Brown describes it as giving "a very forceful and lucid account of the reasons why we need to study religious behaviour as a human phenomenon".[2]
Scientific American[]
In Scientific American, George Johnson describes the book's main draw as being "a sharp synthesis of a library of evolutionary, anthropological and psychological research on the origin and spread of religion".[3]
New Yorker[]
In The New Yorker, evolutionary biologist H. Allen Orr described the book as "an accessible account of what might be called the natural history of religion".[4]
From the religious community[]
The New York Times[]
Leon Wieseltier, former member of the editorial board of the Jewish Review of Books, called the book, in The New York Times, "a sorry instance of present-day scientism" and alleged it to be "a merry anthology of contemporary superstitions".[5]
The New Atlantis[]
A professor of a private, Catholic university and outspoken critic of the environmentalist movement, Charles T. Rubin, likened Dennett in The New Atlantis to "a tone-deaf music scholar", criticized his "unwillingness to admit the limits of scientific rationality" and accused him of "deploying the same old Enlightenment tropes that didn't work all that well the first time around".[6]
Philosophical reception[]
Thomas Nagel said that Dennett's book was 'beneath him' and Edward Feser has extensively critiqued his book, criticising his interpretation of theistic arguments, whilst maintaining praise for his passages on cognitive neuroscience.[7] Roger Scruton both praised and criticised Dennett's book in his book On Human Nature, endorsing his intellectual bravery and imaginative writing, yet criticising his reliance on the meme theory, and remaining sceptical of his view that all areas of human consciousness can be accessible through the neo-Darwinian human model alone.
Translations[]
Breaking the Spell has been translated into several other languages, including:
Dutch | De betovering van het geloof: religie als een natuurlijk fenomeen | Hans Bosman | Amsterdam: Contact 2006 | ISBN 9025426875 |
Finnish | Lumous murtuu: uskonto luonnonilmiönä | Kimmo Pietiläinen | Helsinki: Terra Cognita 2007 | ISBN 978-952-5202-96-0 |
German | Den Bann brechen. Religion als natürliches Phänomen | Frank Born | Frankfurt a. M.: Verlag der Weltreligionen im Insel Verlag 2008 | ISBN 978-3-458-71011-0 |
Greek | Απομυθοποίηση | Dimitris Xygalatas Nikolas Roubekas | Thessaloniki: Vanias 2007 | ISBN 978-960-288-198-9 |
Indonesian | Breaking the Spell. Agama sebagai Fenomena Alam | Ninus D. Andarnuswari | Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia 2021 | ISBN 978-602-481-519-6 |
Italian | Rompere l'incantesimo. La religione come fenomeno naturale | S. Levi | Milano: Cortina Raffaello 2007 | ISBN 978-88-6030-097-3 |
Polish | Odczarowanie. Religia jako zjawisko naturalne | Barbara Stanosz | Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 2008 | ISBN 978-83-06-03138-6 |
Portuguese | Quebrando O Encanto. A Religião Como Fenômeno Natural | Helena Londres | Rio de Janeiro: Globo 2006 | ISBN 978-85-250-4288-0 |
Serbian | Razbijanje čarolije: religija kao prirodna pojava | Milan Perić | Belgrade: McMillan 2015 | ISBN 978-86-80328-01-0 |
Spanish | Romper el hechizo: la religión como un fenómeno natural | Felipe de Brigard | Madrid: Katz 2007 | ISBN 978-84-96859-00-5 |
Persian | شکستن طلسم: دین به عنوان پدیده ای طبیعی | Amir Maniee | Published online, 2019 |
See also[]
- Religious studies
- Evolutionary psychology of religion
- Similar / related books: Religion Explained
- Darwin's Cathedral
- The End of Faith
- The God Delusion
- God is Not Great
References[]
- ^ The University of Edinburgh (2009-02-10), Daniel Dennett: Breaking the Spell - Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, retrieved 2018-04-24
- ^ Brown, A. (2006). "Beyond Belief". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
- ^ "Getting a Rational Grip on Religion" Archived June 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Scientific American, December 25, 2005.
- ^ "The God Project" Archived December 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The New Yorker, April 3, 2006.
- ^ "The God Genome" Archived August 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, February 19, 2006.
- ^ "The God Meme" Archived March 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The New Atlantis 12 (Spring 2006).
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2019-01-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[]
![]() |
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Breaking the Spell |
- "Breaking the Spell" panel, an audio recording and transcript of a discussion involving Daniel Dennett and Alister McGrath organized by the Royal Society of Arts. at archive.today (archived April 16, 2013)
Reviews[]
- David B. Hart, "Daniel Dennett Hunts the Snark" in First Things.
- George Johnson, "Getting a Rational Grip on Religion" in Scientific American.
- Leon Wieseltier, "The God Genome" in The New York Times.
- Dennett's letter to The New York Times editor and Wieseltier's reply at the Wayback Machine (archived November 14, 2012)
- Adam Kirsch, "If Men Are From Mars, What's God" in The New York Sun.
- James Brookfield, "Dennett’s dangerous idea", World Socialist Website.
- Armin W. Geertz, "How Not to Do the Cognitive Science of Religion Today" (University of Aarhus seminar paper).
- Charles T. Rubin, "The God Meme" in The New Atlantis.
- 2006 non-fiction books
- Analytic philosophy literature
- Books by Daniel Dennett
- Books critical of religion
- Cognitive science literature
- English-language books