In A Natural History of Natural Theology the enduring tradition of natural theology meets an academic newcomer, the cognitive science of religion. In this unique meeting, De Cruz and De Smedt offer a bold, fascinating, and remarkably clear account of the cognitive basis of theological arguments. A Natural History of Natural Theology will not only be appreciated by cognitive scientists and theologians, but will be of interest to anyone who has ever considered arguments for or against the existence of God.
Richard Sosis, James Barnett Professor of Humanistic Anthropology, University of Connecticut; cofounder and coeditor of Religion, Brain & Behavior
Science has long forced theological thinkers to respond to new evidence about the nature of the world. De Cruz and De Smedt go a step further: what happens to theology when the science in question is the science of theological thought itself? This ambitious book represents an exciting new chapter in the science–theology dialogue.
Justin L. Barrett, Thrive Professor of Developmental Science, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology; author of Born Believers: The Science of Children's Religious Belief
Why is religion culturally universal? Why do our senses of order, design, and beauty lead us to infer a Designer? De Cruz and De Smedt lucidly and seamlessly join philosophy with cognitive science to provide accessible, empirically based answers. Their huge achievement greatly advances religious studies.
Stewart Elliott Guthrie, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Fordham University; author of Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion
A new and illuminating look at arguments for the existence of God. Brings to bear up-to-date knowledge of cognitive science to show that the staying power of the traditional proofs is no accident; they are deeply rooted in the ways we cognize the world.
Howard Wettstein, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside; author of The Significance of Religious Experience
For philosophers and theologians who want to understand and engage with new empirical research on religion and wonder about its implications for philosophy of religion, there is no better book than The Natural History of Natural Theology.
Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
This book's main achievement lies in its impressive synthesis of academic literature spanning diverse fields and featuring results from their own experimental studies.
Philosophical Psychology
