Tracing the history of faith from the Palaeolithic Age to the present, this title shows that meaning of words such as 'belief', 'faith', and 'mystery' has been entirely altered, so that atheists and theists alike think and speak about God – and, indeed, reason itself – in a way that our ancestors would have found astonishing.

Humans are born with brains designed to make sense of the world and that need for an explanation can lead to beliefs that go beyond reason. This book weaves an account of our 'supersense' that navigates a path through brain science, child development, popular culture, mental illness and the paranormal.