Harris, Sam, 1967-

The end of faith : religion, terror and the future of reason / Sam Harris. - London : FreePress, 2006. - 336 p. ; 20 cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1. Reason in exile --
Ch. 2. The nature of belief --
Ch. 3. In the shadow of God --
Ch. 4. The problem with Islam --
Ch. 5. West of Eden --
Ch. 6. A science of good and evil --
Ch. 7. Experiments in consciousness.

Offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes. It asserts that in the shadow of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer tolerate views that pit one true god against another. Most controversially, he argues that we cannot afford moderate lip service to religion - an accommodation that only blinds us to the real perils of fundamentalism. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, drawing on new evidence from neuroscience and insights from philosophy to explore spirituality as a biological, brain-based need.

9780743268097


Religion--Controversial literature
Terrorism--Religious aspects
Psychology, Religious
Secular humanism

306