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SUMMARY:How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures - Prof Robin Dunbar
DTSTART:20240304T180000Z
DTEND:20240304T193000Z
UID:TALK210073@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Drishtant Chakraborty
DESCRIPTION:Religion is the one thing that clearly differentiates humans f
 rom all other animals. That in itself raises a whole series of questions: 
 Why did religion evolve? When did the capacity for religion first evolve? 
 What cognitive abilities allow humans to be religious but apes not? Is rel
 igion at all beneficial? I shall argue that religion evolved to help bond 
 our unusually large social groups\, and became especially important after 
 we started living in increasingly large villages and towns from around 800
 0 years ago. I shall suggest that religion built on very ancient psycholog
 ical traits that\, while playing a crucial role in creating both friendshi
 ps and bonded communities\, can\, under certain circumstances\, give rise 
 to what I call “the mystical stance” – a capacity that\, through tra
 nce states\, allows us to feel that we engage directly with mysterious for
 ces that control the universe. Leaving us with one tantalizing question: d
 id the Neanderthals die out because they weren’t religious?
LOCATION:Pfizer Lecture Theatre\,  Department of Chemistry\, Lensfield Roa
 d
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