Excellent Beauty: The Naturalness of Religion and the Unnaturalness of the World
Eric Dietrich
Abstract
This book flips convention on its head and argues that science uncovers awe-inspiring, enduring mysteries, while religion, long regarded as the source for such mysteries, is a biological phenomenon. It argues that religion, just like spoken language, is an evolutionary adaptation. Conversely, it makes the case that science is the source of perplexing yet beautiful mysteries, however natural the search for answers may be to human existence. The book attempts to undo our misconception of scientific inquiry as an executioner of beauty, making the case that science has won the battle with religion ... More
This book flips convention on its head and argues that science uncovers awe-inspiring, enduring mysteries, while religion, long regarded as the source for such mysteries, is a biological phenomenon. It argues that religion, just like spoken language, is an evolutionary adaptation. Conversely, it makes the case that science is the source of perplexing yet beautiful mysteries, however natural the search for answers may be to human existence. The book attempts to undo our misconception of scientific inquiry as an executioner of beauty, making the case that science has won the battle with religion so thoroughly it can now explain why religion persists. The book also draws deep lessons for humans flourishing from the very existence of scientific mysteries. It concludes that it is these latter wonderful, completely public truths that reveal a universe worthy of awe and wonder.
Keywords:
science,
mysteries,
religion,
spoken language,
human existence,
human flourishing
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2015 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780231171021 |
| Published to Columbia Scholarship Online: November 2015 |
DOI:10.7312/columbia/9780231171021.001.0001 |
