In the Name of God: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Ethics and Violence Book

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Evolution and Mind 1

1 The Evolution of Morality 9

Setting the Task 9

The Moral Brain 15

The First Layer: Kin Selection 21

The Second Layer: Reciprocal Altruism 25

A Third Layer: Indirect Reciprocity 27

A Fourth Layer: Cultural Group Selection 32

A Fifth Layer: The Moral Emotions 36

Conclusion: From Moral Grammar to Moral Systems 41

2 The Evolution of Moral Religions 43

Setting the Task 43

The Evolution of the Religious Mind 45

Conceptualizing the Almighty 53

The Moral Function of Gods 62

3 Evolutionary Religious Ethics: Judaism 72

Setting the Task 72

Constructing Yahweh 74

The Ten Commandments: An Evolutionary Interpretation 80

Conclusion: The Evolved Law 101

4 Evolutionary Religious Ethics: Christianity 104

Setting the Task 104

Constructing the Christ 107

Setting the Boundaries: Christian and/or Jew? 114

The Third Race: Christians as In-Group 124

Putting on Christ: Christianity's Signals of Commitment 129

Loving Your Neighbor and Turning the Other Cheek 135

5 Religion, Violence, and the Evolved Mind 144

Setting the Task 144

Devoted to Destruction: Sanctified Violence and Judaism 147

The Blood of the Lamb 160

A Case Study in the Evolved Psychology of Religious Violence: 9/11 174

6 Religion Evolving 180

Setting the Task 180

Varieties of Religious Expressions 182

If There Were No God... 186

Religion, Ethics, and Violence: An Assessment 193

Responding to Religion, Ethics, and Violence: Some Proposals 202

Conclusions 215

Notes 220

Bibliography 243

Index 259