Can We Be Good Without God [Hardcover]

With this hint Robert Buckman opens a valuable study of the roots of human belief. He goes on to discuss how these roots become expressed in forms of behaviour. He deftly sidesteps the question of whether gods exist, instead explains the roots of faith as reaction to natural mysteries. Deities, then, are things surpassing human experience or explanation. Buckman defines them as "external intelligence" - what we don't understand we attribute to outside causes. The causes become "supra-human" - forces outside our ken, but useful, particularly when we give them identities.

Early societies used this foundation to establish "animism," a "primitive" [he doesn't like the term, but it's "useful"] form of religion. Animism then evolved by reducing the number of spirits attributed with the powers of nature. In our society, this number was finally reduced to one, an All-Powerful One. This winnowing was accompanied by the establishment of a hierarchy to interpret phenomenon for the remainder of the populace. Shamans/priests became the explainers of divine edicts, often able to direct the activities of the entire society. Every unusual phenomenon required interpretation and this circumstance still leads to the establishment of "new religions" such as the "cargo cults" amongPacific Islanders today. "Faith" is a highly dynamic social force in Buckman's view. These aren't new ideas, but Buckman's summary in opening the book is among the better efforts.

Buckman accepts that the human "need to believe" is an immense force. In his chapter on "Worship" he examines the social and individual expressions of who and what we revere. He uses Thomas Carlyle as an example of the idea that heroes [and deities] are born, and not thrown up by circumstances - "the man makes the times." To Buckman, Carlyle's ideas fit admirably with the notion of gods emerging from nothing, commanding attention and respect. Myths and legends grow relating their behaviour and these become teaching tools applied to the rest of society. The result is the establishment of "Function and Value" of belief. These are essentially the comforting aspects of belief - explaining the unknown with understandable stories that become tradition. Why should Hitler and Napoleon have become successful against all reason? They provided living legends accepted by a wide spectrum of the populace.

Why are these anomalous figures and their mythologies so readily adopted as illustrious? Buckman moves on to an enlightening discussion of what happens in our brains to make these circumstances seem real or desirable. He cites the work of one English and two Canadian researchers in the brain's functions. Based on work originally done to explain the workings of epilepsy, Wilder Penfield and Michael Persinger have demonstrated how easily the brain can be fooled into simulating various types of feelings, from well-being to outright visions. These emotions are tied in with operations of the right temporal lobe, and may even be generated by the body's internal chemistry. While they are all individual responses, the patterns appear to be nearly universal. If they occur associated with outside events, the subject readily equates the feeling with the incident. Gods, myths, heroic figures and legends readily become associated. The temporal lobe, according to Buckman, may be the place of origin for our beliefs.

Buckman thus concludes that an enhanced understanding of the source of many of the emotions and behaviours associated with belief can redirect how and what we believe. By dissociating our "normal" values and ethics from an "external intelligence" we can focus more directly on our own resources in establishing these social mores. The Golden Rule, he argues, is an excellent basis for human behaviour. We need only recognize that it is a human value to follow and not a divinely inspired one.

Buckman's overview of the elements of faith and behaviour should be required reading in every church and school. As an avowed humanist, Buckman's thesis reflects his belief that humanity can make rational decisions. He offers an excellent collection of readings to supplement his contentions and to assist those seeking ideas on how to implement a more rational society. It can be done, and reading this book is a giant first step in achieving a society devoid of misdirected faith.

I remember being caught off guard and a little offended 20 year ago when a Christian friend - a professional educated person - stated it was impossible to be good without God. "If I weren't a believer," he added, "I'm sure I'd be out creating havoc, raping, pillaging, etc," insinuating he had no inherent human inhibitions. At that time, I didn't realize what a common belief it was amongst certain groups to be so righteously indignant (jealous with a halo) about this issue. Buckman spends most of his pages in foreplay but the groundwork is well worth it:

1. Aspects of neurophysiology - Although the last million (or so) years of pre-human and human evolution added layer after layer of analytical cerebral cortex, the limbic system was not removed. Therefore, primitive instinctual aggression remained to preempt rational behavior.
2. Gregarious human behavior was beneficial - even essential - in hunter-gatherer cultures, resulting in extensive evolutionary development of social skills. These worked well in small groups, but caused an "us versus them" mentality when the small groups confronted each other.
3. As good as religion may have been for certain aspects of society, it has been called upon frequently to augment that inherent us versus them mentality - resulting in some very negative results.
4. Religion is joined by nationalism, racism, and other idealisms, as rationalizations for wars and genocides.

Finally, the last 1/3 of the book got to the issue of ethics not being tied to religion. For verification that ethics are inherent in man's evolutionary development, Buckman (President of the Humanist association in Canada) relies on non-theist core principles from the Humanist association guidelines. He adds easy to read commentary throughout, producing a delightful book that I can't say enough good about, except that I think I will make an effort to reread it every year.

Can We Be Good Without God?: Biology, Behavior, and the Need to Believe by Robert Buckman

"Can We Be Good Without God?" is an interesting book on the biology of belief with emphasis on religious beliefs. With the use of sound science and logic Dr. Buckman proceeds to build an intellectual foundation that addresses the key premise of his book, can we be good without God? This 276-page book is broken out in the following three parts: Part One - To Believe is Human, Part Two - Belief and Behavior, and Part Three - Can We Do Better?

Positives:
1. Well written, accessible prose for the masses.
2. Great use of science, in particular neuroscience to explain key concepts of the book.
3. Even-handed, respectful tone throughout.
4. Great logical format that builds the foundation of key concepts that ultimately lead the reader to a satisfactory conclusion.
5. Educational and insightful.
6. Fascinating look at the concept of causality and the afterlife.
7. Interesting look at religious rituals.
8. The purpose of religion.
9. Beliefs and human societies. The strong predilection for worship. Humankind and the relationship with mythology.
10. Great wisdom and thought-provoking ideas: "What all myths have in common is very important: they all illustrate humankind's very deep longing, almost an ache-to be rescued. We all yearn for redemption, the deep primeval hope that whatever our current problems, there is somebody out there who will come in and rescue us. The ultimate longing, of course, is for salvation from death, the hope of an everlasting afterlife, a resurrection."
11. The problem with myths.
12. The neurology of belief. The author does a wonderful job of using neuroscience to explain how the brain has a central role in human psychology.
13. Fascinating scientific speculations...temporal lobe epilepsy and Joan of Arc.
14. Fascinating scientific observations..."the more sensitive your temporal lobe is, the more likely it is that you will have regular (and deep) religious experiences."
15. What science is.
16. An insightful look at crowd behaviors. Really learned something here.
17. Knowledge obtained through the Milgram experiments.
18. The real purpose behind prayers. Interesting.
19. The essential features of a mob and riots.
20. Great quotes, "the reward is not a guarantee of life eternal, but is at least a way of dealing with the fear of death."
21. Values of beliefs.
22. The ultimate desires of humans.
23. How the evolution of human knowledge has impacted superstitions.
24. The dangers of religious beliefs.
25. Good advice on what we can do, "We cannot all agree on what is good, but we can start by agreeing to avoid something that is totally bad."
26. The meaning of life.
27. Links worked great!

Negatives:
1. With so many good references the book warranted a bibliography.
2. The book was originally released in 2002; there has been a lot of progress made in neuroscience since then. It doesn't contradict the main premises of this book...if anything it solidifies it.
3. If you are looking for a book to help debate the non-existence of God or gods this is not what this book is about as the author clearly states.

In summary, this is a very solid and enjoyable book to read. Dr. Buckman met my expectations of explaining how beliefs affect our behavior. The combination of good science, logical and lucid thinking is a great formula. If you are interested on religious beliefs and how it affects our behaviors, this is a very good book to begin with or compliments other books on the topic. I give it a strong recommendation.

Further suggestions: "The Believing Brain" and "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer, "Sense and Goodness without God" by Richard Carrier, "Superstition" by Robert L. Park, "Science and Nonbelief" by Taner Edis, "Society without God" by Phil Zuckerman, "The Brain and the Meaning of Life" by Paul Thagard, "Hardwired Behavior" by Laurence Tancredi, "Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality" by Patricia S. Churchland, and "SuperSense" by Bruce M. Hood.

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