Dennett Daniel C. Breaking the Spell. Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

Penguin Books, 2007. — 464 p. — ISBN: 0-670-03472-X; ISBN: 978-0-14-303833-7.Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (published 2006) is a book in which the American philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett 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.Opening pandora's box
Breaking Which Spell?
What's going on?
A working definition of religion
To break or not to break
Peering into the abyss
Religion as a natural phenomenon
Some Questions About Science
Can science study religion?
Should science study religion?
Might music be bad for you?
Would neglect be more benign?
Why Good Things Happen
Bringing out the best
Cui bono?
Asking what pays for religion
A Martian's list of theories
The evolution of religion
The Roots of Religion
The births of religions
The raw materials of religion
How Nature deals with the problem of other minds
Religion, the Early Days
Too many agents: competition for rehearsal space
Gods as interested parties
Getting the gods to speak to us
Shamans as hypnotists
Memory-engineering devices in oral cultures
The Evolution of Stewardship
The music of religion
Folk religion as practical know-how
Creeping reflection and the birth of secrecy in religion
The domestication of religions
The Invention of Team Spirit
A path paved with good intentions
The ant colony and the corporation
The growth market in religion
A God you can talk to
Belief in Belief
You better believe it
God as intentional object
The division of doxastic labor
The lowest common denominator?
Beliefs designed to be professed
Lessons from Lebanon: the strange cases of the Druze and Kim Philby
Does God exist?
Religion today
Toward a Buyer's Guide to Religions
For the love of God
The academic smoke screen
Why does it matter what you believe?
What can your religion do for you?
Morality and Religion
Does religion make us moral?
Is religion what gives meaning to your life?
What can we say about sacred values?
Bless my soul: spirituality and selfishness
Now What Do We Do?
Just a theory
Some avenues to explore: how can we home in on religious conviction?
What shall we tell the children?
Toxic memes
Patience and politics
Appendixes
The New Replicators
Some More Questions About Science
The Bellboy and the Lady Named Tuck
Kim Philby as a Real Case of Indeterminacy of Radical Interpretation
Notes

Index