The Good Book of Human Nature: An Evolutionary Reading of the Bible - Hardcover

Van Schaik, Carel; Michel, Kai

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465074707 ISBN 13: 9780465074709

Verlag: Basic Books, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

How reading the Bible as a work of cultural and scientific evolution can reveal new truths about how our species conquered the Earth

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Carel van Schaik is a professor of biological anthropology at the University of Zurich, where he is director of the Anthropological Institute and Museum. He lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Kai Michel is a historian, literary scholar, and science journalist. Michel also lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

The Bible is the bestselling book of all time. It has been veneratedor excoriatedas God s word, but so far no one has read the Bible for what it is: humanity s diary, chronicling our ancestors valiant attempts to cope with the trials and tribulations of life on Earth.
In "The Good Book of Human Nature," evolutionary anthropologist Carel van Schaik and historian Kai Michel advance a new view of "Homo sapiens" cultural evolution. The Bible, they argue, was written to make sense of the single greatest change in history: the transition from egalitarian hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies. Religion arose as a strategy to cope with the unprecedented levels of epidemic disease, violence, inequality, and injustice that confronted us when we abandoned the bush and which still confront us today.
Armed with the latest findings from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, archeology, and religious history, van Schaik and Michel take us on a journey through the Book of Books, from the Garden of Eden all the way to Golgotha. The Book of Genesis, they reveal, marked the emergence of private propertyone can no longer take the fruit off any tree, as one could before agriculture. The Torah as a whole is the product of a surprisingly logical, even scientific, approach to society s problems. This groundbreaking perspective allows van Schaik and Michel to coax unexpected secrets from the familiar stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Abraham and Moses, Jesus of Nazareth and Mary. The Bible may have a dark side, but in van Schaik and Michel s hands, it proves to be a hallmark of human indefatigability.
Provocative and deeply original, "The Good Book of Human Nature" offers a radically new understanding of the Bible. It shows that the Bible is more than just a pillar for religious belief: it is a pioneering attempt at scientific inquiry.
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Aus dem Klappentext

The Bible is the bestselling book of all time. However, so far no one has read the Bible for what it is: the chronicle of humanity s valiant attempts to cope with trials for which our biology isn t necessarily suited. Armed with the latest findings from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and religious history, evolutionary anthropologist Carel van Schaik and historian Kai Michel take us on a journey through the book of books to advance a new view of the Bible as a window on Homo sapiens attempts to reckon with their own evolution.

Both humanizing and deeply scientific, The Good Book of Human Nature is essential reading for anyone wanting a better understanding, if not of God, then at least of the human condition.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Basic Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0465074707
• ISBN 13: 9780465074709
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 480
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar