A review by joebathelt
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief by Lewis Wolpert

4.0

In this book, developmental biologist Lewis Wolpert investigates the origin of human belief, apparently in a quest to understand religiosity and science denialism. The central thesis of the book follows the central thesis that beliefs arose from the human ability to understand cause and effect, which evolved with the ability to make complex tools. The book first provides an overview of how cause-effect thinking in humans differs from other animals and how it develops in early childhood. Wolpert then discusses the link between cause-effect thinking and beliefs. The argument here is that belief is not irrational. It arises either from the tendency to maintain cognitive coherence or from a lack of better causal explanations.
It has to be noted that the book is quite dense. It is very academic and does not adopt the more jovial tone that is more common in most current science books for general audiences. However, the effort to read it is well worth it. I gained many insights from reading it. The book is very well researched and provides an excellent overview of the key texts on the evolution of causal beliefs for anyone who wants to dive deeper into the topic.