Includes a variety of articles looking at civilisation and our societies from different perspectives. My favourites were the ones about evolution, social hierarchies, and religion. I'd like to read more about religion. I want to understand why humans tend to and need to belief. Was religion the catalyst for the formation of big societies and our current civilisation? As Steven Pinker says, "belief in God is a kind of belief you hold for its moral benefits, not for its factual accuracy."
Three theories explain why we believe:
Cognitive by-product theory: "religious belief is a side effect of cognitive skills that evolved for other reasons." Someone who believes that (all) events are caused by agents have more chances of survival than someone who doesn't.
Theory of Mind: a mechanism which "evolved so that we could infer the mental states and intentions of others, even if they aren't physically present." This is extended to assign mental states and intentions to inanimate objects or invisible entities.
Existential Insecurity - fear of death, randomness, and loss of control can be soothed if we belief there is someone looking after us and that death isn't the end.
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