Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods: Early Humans and the Origins of Religion

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By E. Fuller Torrey ’59

Published Sept. 27, 2017

Religions and mythologies teach that God or gods created humans, but atheist and humanist critics have tried to argue that religion is a human invention. E. Fuller Torrey draws on neuroscience research in Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods (Columbia University Press) to propose that religious belief is the byproduct of evolution.

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The cover of PAW’s November 2024 issue, featuring an illustration of a military tank that's made out of a pink brain, and the headline "Armed With Ideas: Princetonians lead think tanks through troubled political times."
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