SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST

Book ID/图书代码： 04560005B11863

English Summary/英文概要： Why do 70 per cent of Americans believe in angels, and thousands more that they have been abducted by aliens? Why does every society around the world have a religious tradition of some sort? What makes people believe in things when all the evidence points to the contrary? Why do 13 per cent of British scientists touch wood? In "Through the Looking Glass", the White Queen tells Alice that to believe in a wildly improbable fact she simply needs to ’draw a long breath and shut your eyes’. Alice finds this advice ridiculous. But don’t almost all of us, at some time or another, engage in magical thinking? Professor Lewis Wolpert investigates the nature of belief and its causes. He looks at belief’s psychological basis and its possible evolutionary origins in physical cause and effect. How did toolmaking drive human evolution? Is it the lack of an explanation about fundamental questions which is truly intolerable? Are we born with an evolutionary propensity to believe in things that make us feel better? Wolpert explores the different types of belief - including that of animals, of children, of the religious, and of those suffering from psychiatric disorders. And he asks whether it is possible to live without belief at all, or whether it is a necessary component of a functioning society.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 为什么70%的美国人都相信有天使？为什么全世界每个地区都有他们自己的传统？是什么可以让人们相信与事实相反的事情？Lewis Wolpert教授调查了信仰的本质和产生的原因。他研究信仰对心理的作用和它可能的历史演变过程。信仰是怎么推动人类发展的？在我们的成长过程中有信仰是不是会让我们觉得更好？Wolpert揭示了各种种类的信仰——包括动物的，孩子的，各个地方的…他还试着探讨人们是不是能够没有信仰，或者信仰是不是社会中必要的一部分。

Awards/获奖情况：

About the Author/作者介绍： Lewis Wolpert is an eminent embryologist and broadcaster, a science populariser. Prompted by his son’s decision to become a born-again Christian he decided to explore the nature of belief and why humans seem to be hard wired to believe things. He comes up with some interesting theories and answers relating to our evolution as toolmakers and causal thinkers.

Format:HARDCOVER

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