The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? (5 page)
Read The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? Online
Authors: Jared Diamond
PART FIVE
: RELIGION, LANGUAGE, AND HEALTH
CHAPTER 9. What Electric Eels Tell Us About the Evolution of Religion
Questions about religion
Definitions of religionFunctions and electric eelsThe search for causal explanationsSupernatural beliefsReligion’s function of explanationDefusing anxietyProviding comfortOrganization and obedienceCodes of behavior towards strangersJustifying warBadges of commitmentMeasures of religious successChanges in religion’s functions
CHAPTER 10. Speaking in Many Tongues
MultilingualismThe world’s language totalHow languages evolveGeography of language diversityTraditional multilingualismBenefits of bilingualismAlzheimer’s diseaseVanishing languagesHow languages disappearAre minority languages harmful?Why preserve languages?How can we protect languages?