And Mankind Created the Gods
A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Pascal Boyer's Religion Explained
Published on 18. June 2024
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-1-63779-066-3 (ISBN)
Description
Why does religion exist? Why do people believe? Do all religions start with the same basic idea?
These are some of the most fundamental and enduring questions we have about the mysteries of religion, and they may well hold the key to humankind's future on this earth.
In this adaptation of Pascal Boyer's classic work exploring these concepts, Religion Explained, artist Joseph Behe harnesses the power of comics to provide clear answers to the basic questions about why religion exists and why people believe.
A distinguished scholar, Boyer drew from research in cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology to explore why religion exists and why the strength of human beliefs can drive us to be selfless sometimes and, at other times, to be fanatical and intolerant. His erudite book is rich with insight into the endless jumble of ideas that inform religious beliefs and practices across cultures. With detailed, illustrative drawings and carefully adapted prose, Behe's graphic novel brings a new perspective to Boyer's work.
An eminently accessible approach to the notoriously thorny topics of belief, cognition, humanity, and religion, And Mankind Created the Gods is a thoughtful, inspiring graphic novel that will further and broaden the conversation with which Boyer's book engages.
These are some of the most fundamental and enduring questions we have about the mysteries of religion, and they may well hold the key to humankind's future on this earth.
In this adaptation of Pascal Boyer's classic work exploring these concepts, Religion Explained, artist Joseph Behe harnesses the power of comics to provide clear answers to the basic questions about why religion exists and why people believe.
A distinguished scholar, Boyer drew from research in cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology to explore why religion exists and why the strength of human beliefs can drive us to be selfless sometimes and, at other times, to be fanatical and intolerant. His erudite book is rich with insight into the endless jumble of ideas that inform religious beliefs and practices across cultures. With detailed, illustrative drawings and carefully adapted prose, Behe's graphic novel brings a new perspective to Boyer's work.
An eminently accessible approach to the notoriously thorny topics of belief, cognition, humanity, and religion, And Mankind Created the Gods is a thoughtful, inspiring graphic novel that will further and broaden the conversation with which Boyer's book engages.
Reviews / Votes
"[A] detailed and convincing work of graphic scholarship."-Publishers Weekly "Having read Religion Explained in preparation for this review, I found Behe's graphic novel format provided a more intuitive way to process Boyer's complex ideas. The visual approach offered a fresh entry point into Boyer's central, but often impenetrable, thesis: that religious ideas are not merely inherited as cultural constants but arise from the unique workings of the human mind."
-Aaron Duggan Nova Religio "If you've any interest at all in human beliefs and thought processes and are willing to spend the time to consider what's on offer, And Mankind Created the Gods is going to be the source of hours of contemplation. ... Monumental!"
-Frank Plowright The Slings & Arrows "A terrific book that brings to life, in pictures, how scientific curiosity finds out why people invented gods and why so many still cling to them."
-Susan Blackmore, author of The Meme Machine "Behe portrays a consistently engaging conversation, masterfully distilling Boyer on why religions arise, persist, and compel and punctuating it with arresting images of the splendor and diversity of things religious."
-Robert N. McCauley, author of Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pennsylvania State University Press
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Dimensions
Height: 263 mm
Width: 197 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
1334 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-63779-066-3 (9781637790663)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Joseph Behe has illustrated some twenty comic books, and he cowrites graphic novels with Amandine Laprun and Erwann Surcouf. The creative projects he has been involved in include Peche mortel, La peniche bleue, Pour l'amour de l'art, and Double Je.
Pascal Boyer is Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and Psychology and Henry Luce Professor of Collective and Individual Memory at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of several books, including most recently Minds Make Societies: How Cognition Explains the World Humans Create.
Pascal Boyer is Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and Psychology and Henry Luce Professor of Collective and Individual Memory at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of several books, including most recently Minds Make Societies: How Cognition Explains the World Humans Create.