“Religion can certainly bring out the best in a person, but it is not the only phenomenon with that property. Having a child often has a wonderfully maturing effect on a person, …but for day-in, day-out lifelong bracing, there is probably nothing so effective as religion: it makes powerful and talented people more humble and patient, it makes average people rise above themselves, it provides a sturdy support for many people who desperately need help staying away from drink or drugs or crime.”

Main Body:
His idea could be compactly explained in the phrase best espoused by the philosophers of that era, in a way that Dennett proposes a variety of theories: First, “sweet tooth” theories. We have evolved a receptor system for sweet things, and in a similar way we might have a “god center” in our brains. Such a center might depend on a “mystical gene” that was favored by natural selection because people with it tended to survive better. Second, religions might be memes that infect our brains. They are not necessarily parasitic, but could be symbiotic, conferring advantages on those who are infected. Third, religion might be favored in sexual selection by females. For example, women might have preferred men who demonstrated sensitivity to music and ceremony, thus spreading genes for religious behavior within the population. Fourth, religions may be cultural artifacts, like money. They could have evolved because they make social life more harmonious, secure and efficient. Or else they could have evolved because they enable an elite to prey upon the ill-informed and powerless. Fifth, religions may be rather like pearls, beautiful by-products that arose in response to irritants, which then captivated human beings for no good reason. These theories are evidence-free and wildly speculative. By several criteria, they are pseudoscience. Or they are intellectual games.

In any case, Dennett goes on to speculate further. For example, in shamanic cultures, there might have been natural selection for a “hypnotisability gene” that affected brain chemistry, making people more prone to suggestion by shamans, and hence more likely to survive ill health because of a greater placebo response. This explains his unbreakable stand that even though the mysteries and mysticism in religion is perpetually present, we can say this with utmost assertion that religion is not supernatural activity as it has been explained by many critiques of religion.

In addition to this, he makes the claim that religion is not to understood as the asset of the hereditary and lineage wherein the parents have transferred this trait to their offspring during gestation period and it is not to be understood as the the gene mutation or product of random gene selection, it is not to be understood as the acquired or educated taste like in the case of reading books. It could be explained in the lens of the fact that if the person is devoted towards religion then he or she is having a sign of such type of upbringing. He explains it further that religion could be viewed through the eyes of what David Hume, the great empiricist, how he viewed it is example from his books on religion, the first one: religion as natural phenomenon and second book: concerning natural religion; he talks about He talks about the fact that there is a specific type of a religion that is called as the scientific religion which is having critical basis, logical segments as well as thoughtful measures for each and every of its practice. The natural religion must have all of those rules, regulations and procedures which could be explained, analyzed as well as investigated, critically scientifically and logically. This manifestation of religion is an indirect juxtaposition To the other category of religion, which is the revealed type of the sect, wherein It is based on mysticism, miracles, and supernatural domain of practices.

Daniel be that nearly two millennia of time period. The so-called philosophers who were trying to investigate religion and determine the substance of truth within it. They have turned up line towards the ultimately essential question that is what are the activity which are so much important to so many people, and that is other than the God himself in their religion; This particular question which has been kept in oblivious ignorance could be attributed to the further counter effect, which is visibly evident in the manifestation of inability and incapacity of people to rightly assert as to whether whether their religion is a natural phenomena or the supernatural projectile.

Conclusion
“Natural selection builds child brains with a tendency to believe whatever their parents and tribal elders tell them” (Dawkins). It is not surprising, then, to find religious leaders in every part of the world hitting upon the extra authority provided them by their taking on the title “Father.” says Daniel. What Daniel wanted to assert was simply this fact that religion is following the lines, thoughts and trajectory of events, historical happenings, structures, systems that duly stand in cognizant as well as consonance of the laws of physics and much like the laws of biology. Therefore, it is a natural phenomena.

References:
Daniel Dennett (2006); Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
Russell, B. 1935. Religion and Science. Oxford University Press, London.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_religion

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1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

The Alchemist is a book about a boy named Santiago who dreams about a treasure, which is worth a shot! So goes on an awe­inspiring quest of conquering his dreams! The alchemist is a book about dreams, Magic, Treasures, Excitement and what not? All clubbed under one roof, which we seek everywhere but to our bombshell we end up on our own doorsteps! This book is about chasing or running behind your dreams! No matter what they are, no matter how small or big! It is a book which enhearten every person to dream and not being afraid of it because all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

2. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

The davinci code by dan brown is the story of the history­changing secret that Jesus was not divine, was married to Mary Magdalene, had children, that the Christian church altered the Bible, that it invented Jesus’ divinity as it demonized the sacred­feminine in order to gain power and influence, and that the secret is held by a sect of the Catholic Church that goes to extreme lengths to preserve the secret lest it lose its power and influence.This masterpiece should be mandatory reading. Brown solidifies his reputation as one of the most skilled thriller writers on the planet with his best book yet, a compelling blend of history and page­turning suspense. So grab this book, sit back, and prepare to be entertained and educated. It’s well­written, it’s intelligent, and best of all, it’s fun.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Set in the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is simply about black and white. It is a gentle portrayal of the extremes of racism suffered by black people, and the way that white liberals like lawyer Atticus Finch negotiate the criss­cross of fine lines through their society. Scout and Jem, the children of Finch, episodically live through three years during which their father takes on the case of his lifetime: defending Tom Robinson against a rape charge brought by Mayella Ewell. Lee’s writing style, the characters, the story all combine to create a true masterpiece. If you’ve never read it till now, then move this to the top of your list and dive in. Hopefully you’ll love it.

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

In Afghanistan, young Amir’s earliest memories of life in Kabul are blessed with a cultural heritage that values tradition, blood ties and a deeply rooted cultural identity. Upper class Pashtuns, Amir enjoys the luxury of education, material comfort and a constant playmate, the son of his father’s longtime Hazara servant, Hassan. Khaled Hosseini’s quietly powerful debut novel The Kite Runner fulfills the promise of fiction, awakening curiosity about the world around us, speaking truth as the lessons of history echo down the years. The themes are universal: familial relationships, particularly father and son; the price of disloyalty; the inhumanity of a rigid class system; and the horrific realities of war. The kite runner is a book to look out for!

5. The Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Considered by many to be Charles Dickens’s finest novel, Great Expectations traces the growth of the book’s narrator, the orphan Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own “great expectations” in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him toward maturity and his most important discovery of all ­ the truth about himself. Great Expectations is creepy in places, which is probably why so many people like it, and the bittersweet ending (Dickens actually wrote two endings) is perfectly consistent with the story. This book is a good “starter” Dickens, and also perfectly satisfying for Dickens’ fans.

6. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank details approximately two years of the life of a Jewish teenager during World War II. During much of the time period covered by her journal, Anne and her family are in hiding in an attempt to escape Hitler’s anti­Jewish laws and genocidal desires. Anne’s diary ends abruptly in August, 1944. On that day, she and her family are taken into custody by the Germans and transported to concentration camps. She states several times in her journal, even when the family is in hiding from those who want to kill them, that she still believes that people are inherently good. Perhaps, it is the resiliency of Anne’s positive nature that is the most memorable theme in her writing.

7. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife is a lyrical love story between Henry and Clare, albeit an unusual one suffused with vivid images of the past and the future. Henry has a rare genetic condition: he time­travels within his own lifetime, into his own past and future, yet dwells in the present. Henry and Clare develop a bond that transcends time and logic, bound to memory and promise. Since Henry’s traveling is involuntary, they learn to deal with life’s ambiguity in a deeper sense than most couples. Within this strange constraint, Clare’s affection assumes a mystical tone and she accepts their situation unconditionally, year after year committing her heart into Henry’s keeping. This is an extraordinary novel with a unique premise, an exploration of the unknown in this expanding century, where the impossible becomes possible, if not routine.

8. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

On the morning of their fifth anniversary, Nick Dunne’s wife, Amy, disappears from their North Carthage, Missouri home. A few years before, they moved there from New York to take care of Nick’s mother, who was dying of cancer. Their marriage hasn’t exactly been an all ­American love story, but as tough as things have been, it’s about to get worse. Gone Girl does an excellent job at having us scrutinize the gender roles in the modern family, picking apart the aspects that make our society progressive.or not so progressive. Flynn does an excellent job at getting us into the heads of the quintessential dysfunctional family, one that slides down into ruin because the characters are never quite honest with each other.

9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A novel set in Nazi Germany and narrated by the grim reaper doesn’t sound particularly whimsical, but Markus Zusak makes the task seem natural, if not easy, in his novel The Book Thief. While not exactly light reading, the young adult story has proved its near universal appeal, spending over 230 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, causing some booksellers to reconsider the “young” label, re­shelving it under “fiction.”

10. The Memories of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is a work of fiction — a romance, really — which has been dressed in the kimono of an autobiography of sorts. Golden creates a fictional interviewer and translator at the beginning, and then offers us a work composed from ‘recorded interviews’ with his fictitious lead character, the geisha Sayuri. The book is fully of interesting titbits and details, elements of the culture and the times, and particularly the location within Japan wherein the book is set. And yet, were it purely a biography I would find it very hard to believe, for it’s wrapped around what is really a very mundane, very conventional ‘love at first sight is finally requited’ tale with Sayuri at its center.

­Moksha Mathpal | Content Writer

DU Times

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