Can We Be Good Without God?: Biology, Behavior, and the Need to Believe

Leaving aside the question of the actual existence of a supreme deity, Buckman (medicine, U. of Toronto, Canada) applies principles of evolutionary science and neuroscience to an examination of the effect of belief systems (defined as consistent attitude held by people irrespective of the availability of factual information) and religion in particular on different levels of human behavior. He describes constructive and destructive effects of communal belief. Suggesting that the need for belief may be hardwired into human consciousness, Buckman argues that it may nevertheless be productive to behave as if there were no God in constructing a moral order that rests on creating a dichotomy between constructiveness versus destructiveness, rather than good versus evil. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR