''Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon'' is a 2006 book by American philosopher and cognitive scientist

Daniel Dennett Daniel Clement Dennett III (born March 28, 1942) is an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relat ...

, in which the author argues that

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

is in need of

scientific analysis The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

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.

Synopsis

The book is divided into three parts. Dennett's working definition of religions is: "social systems whose participants avow belief in a

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

agent or agents whose approval is to be sought". He notes that this definition is "a place to start, not something carved in stone".

Part I

Part I discusses the motivation and justification for the entire project: ''Can'' science study religion? ''Should'' science study religion?

Part II

After answering in the affirmative, Part II proceeds to use the tools of

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...

and

memetics Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...

to suggest possible

theories A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

regarding the

origin of religion The evolutionary origin of religions and religious behavior is a field of study related to evolutionary psychology, the origin of language and mythology, and cross-cultural comparison of the anthropology of religion. Some subjects of interes ...

and subsequent evolution of modern religions from ancient

folk beliefs In folkloristics, folk belief or folk-belief is a broad genre of folklore that is often expressed in narratives, customs, rituals, foodways, proverbs, and rhymes. It also includes a wide variety of behaviors, expressions, and beliefs. Examples of ...

Part III

Part III analyzes religion and its effects in today's world: Does religion make us

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

? Is religion what gives meaning to life? What should we teach the children? Dennett bases much of his analysis on

empirical Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences and ...

evidence, though he often points out that much more research in this field is needed.

Critical reception

The book has received differing reviews from various consumer, mass media outlets.

''The Guardian''

''The Guardian''s Andrew Brown describes it as giving "a very forceful and lucid account of the reasons why we need to study religious behaviour as a human phenomenon".

''Scientific American''

In ''Scientific American'', George Johnson describes the book's main draw as being "a sharp synthesis of a library of evolutionary, anthropological and psychological research on the origin and spread of religion".

''New Yorker''

In ''The New Yorker'', evolutionary biologist

H. Allen Orr H. Allen Orr (born 1960) is the Shirley Cox Kearns Professor of Biology at the University of Rochester. Education and career Orr earned his bachelor's degree in Biology and Philosophy from the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. in Biology ...

described the book as "an accessible account of what might be called the natural history of religion".

''The New York Review of Books''

In ''The New York Review of Books'', Freeman Dyson wrote:

From the religious community

''The New York Times''

Leon Wieseltier Leon Wieseltier (; born June 14, 1952) is an American critic and magazine editor. From 1983 to 2014, he was the literary editor of ''The New Republic''. He was a contributing editor and critic at ''The Atlantic'' until October 27, 2017, when the ...

, former member of the editorial board of the '' Jewish Review of Books'', called the book, in ''The New York Times'', "a sorry instance of present-day

scientism Scientism is the opinion that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientis ...

" and alleged it to be "a merry anthology of contemporary superstitions"."The God Genome"
, ''The New York Times'', February 19, 2006.

''The New Atlantis''

A professor of a private, Catholic university and outspoken critic of the

environmentalist movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...

Charles T. Rubin Charles T. Rubin is a political science professor, philosopher and writer. Rubin was raised in Cleveland, Ohio and attended nearby Case Western Reserve University, receiving a bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science in 1975. He went ...

, likened Dennett in ''The New Atlantis'' to "a tone-deaf music scholar", criticized his "unwillingness to admit the limits of scientific rationality" and accused him of "deploying the same old Enlightenment tropes that didn't work all that well the first time around".

Philosophical reception

Thomas Nagel Thomas Nagel (; born July 4, 1937) is an American philosopher. He is the University Professor of Philosophy and Law Emeritus at New York University, where he taught from 1980 to 2016. His main areas of philosophical interest are legal philosophy, ...

said that Dennett's book was 'beneath him' and

Edward Feser Edward C. Feser (; born April 16, 1968) is an American Catholic philosopher. He is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Education Feser holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Californi ...

has extensively critiqued his book, criticising his interpretation of theistic arguments, whilst maintaining praise for his passages on cognitive neuroscience. Roger Scruton both praised and criticised Dennett's book in his book ''On Human Nature'', endorsing his intellectual bravery and imaginative writing, yet criticising his reliance on the

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

theory, and remaining sceptical of his view that all areas of human consciousness can be accessible through the neo-Darwinian human model alone.

Translations

''Breaking the Spell'' has been translated into several other languages, including:

References

External links

Reviews

* David B. Hart,
Daniel Dennett Hunts the Snark
in ''

First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religio ...

''. * George Johnson,
Getting a Rational Grip on Religion
in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

''. *

,
The God Genome
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. ** * Adam Kirsch,
If Men Are From Mars, What's God
in ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

''. * James Brookfield,
Dennett’s dangerous idea
,

World Socialist Website The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It describes itself as an "online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement". The WSWS publishes articles and analysi ...

. * Armin W. Geertz,
How Not to Do the Cognitive Science of Religion Today
( University of Aarhus seminar paper). * Charles T. Rubin,
The God Meme
in '' The New Atlantis''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Breaking The Spell: Religion As A Natural Phenomenon 2006 non-fiction books Analytic philosophy literature Books by Daniel Dennett Books critical of religion Cognitive science literature English-language books New Atheism