From Groups to Gods

Neuroscience and Evolution of the Collective Mind

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

1 749 kr

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Explore the 'group mind' phenomenon and uncover its influences on religious and political experiences. This book investigates the idea that human groups, under certain conditions, can develop distinct personalities and possess 'minds' characterized by quasi-rational decision-making processes, emotions, intentional states, and actions in the world. Utilizing expert research, Patrick McNamara applies the explosion of findings in collective cognition to topics in evolutionary psychology, social science, and religion to demonstrate the associations between group minds and supernatural agents. The chapters examine the relationship between religious group minds and individual psychology from multiple perspectives, including identity dynamics, inter-group relations, group theory of mind, and the neuroscience of in-group monitoring. The book also addresses how religious groups evolve, maintain cohesion, and shape individual brains, offering a novel framework for understanding how collective minds emerge and operate. It is an essential resource for those interested in the psychology of religion, philosophy, and religious studies.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-07-09
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor366
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9781009666213

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Patrick McNamara is Professor of Psychology at the National University, USA, and Associate Professor of Neurology at Boston University, USA. He has authored and edited several texts in neuropsychology, neuroscience of religious cognition, sleep medicine and evolutionary psychology, including the Cognitive Neuroscience of Religious Experience (2022) and Neuroscience of Sleep and Dreams (2022), both now in their second editions. Patrick is a recipient of a Templeton Foundation award, a Merit Review Award in the Veterans Administration system, and several NIH grants.

Preface; 1. Evidence for group mind; 2. Definitions and assumptions of group mind; 3. Superorganisms and group minds; 4. Growing and destroying a group mind; 5. Evolutionary emergence of group mind; 6. Historical evolution of group mind; 7. Content of group minds; 8. Neuroscience of group minds; 9. Individual in relation to group minds; 10. Group mind in group psychotherapy; 11. Group mind and dreams; 12. Group mind and leadership; 13. Group mind and politics; 14. Group mind in the major evolutionary transition; 15. Group mind and the new religious consciousness; References; Index.