{"product_id":"conceiving-god","title":"Conceiving God","description":"Recent years have seen a growing tension between religion and science as more and more people have asked themselves a fundamental question: is there a supernatural realm that intervenes in daily life? To many it certainly feels so - but what if the religious impulse has another, rational, explanation?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBuilding on the insights and discoveries of his two earlier books, \u003ci\u003eThe Mind in the Cave\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eInside the Neolithic Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, cognitive archaeologist David Lewis-Williams explores how science developed within the cocoon of religion and then shows how the natural functioning of the human brain creates experiences that can lead to belief in the supernatural realm. Such belief gives rise to creeds, a development examined here in the light of critical episodes in world history, from rivalries between Platonists and Aristotelians to the discoveries of Charles Darwin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArchaeology reveals activities one can label religious many tens of thousands of years ago and the author shows that mental imagery can be detected in widely separated religious communities such as Hildegard of Bingen's in medieval Europe or the San hunters of southern Africa.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt once polemical, insightful and thought-provoking, \u003ci\u003eConceiving God\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for all those interested in these questions about the origins of religious thought, and the respective roles of science and religion in contemporary society.","brand":"Thames and Hudson Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48764379005205,"sku":"9780500051641","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0832\/0503\/0165\/products\/9780500051641_conceiving-god.jpg?v=1696328075","url":"https:\/\/www.thamesandhudson.com\/products\/conceiving-god","provider":"Thames \u0026 Hudson","version":"1.0","type":"link"}