Michael Angold - The Byzantine Empire 1025-1204: A Political History. This takes you through an incredible sequence of events. The Romans are on top of the world in 1025, and in 50 years they have completely blown it and are losing their Anatolian heartland, which they had always been able to defend against the Arabs. Then they get it back together for about 100 years with the Komnenos dynasty and then fall apart again. The Larger lesson being that political systems and state structures can be quite fragile and respond to stress in self-destructive ways.
Mark Whittow - The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025. Takes you from the 7th century collapse through the long recovery and closes at the peak with strong focus on the limitations imposed by geography. Very interesting take on Basil II, whom he sees as a "traditionalist/reactionary" repudiating the 10th century conquest era with its focus on multi-ethnic alliances with Armenians and other eastern non-orthodox christians in favor of a return to Constantinople-centered orthodoxy. Implicit is the thought that the decline began with Basil, not after him.
Any books by Anthony Kaldellis. Kaldellis likes to stir things up and some of his arguments seem a bit out there as in Byzantine Republic, but in Romanland he is pretty hard to argue with on the fundamental Roman identity of the empire, and the bad faith agenda of the western world in trying to obscure that identity. Kaldellis has an interesting podcast as well.
Peter Sarris in Empires of Faith is looking at the entire late antique / early medieval world, not just Byzantium, but very interesting throughout, and interesting views on the 7th century collapse and early attempts at recovery.
"‘How God Works’ Review: The Science of Spiritualism: Religious rituals change us through several mechanisms. Celebrations stick in memory—and public commitments bind us to our paths." By Matthew Hutson "Sept. 30, 2021"
"... churches are familiar with change, the psychologist David DeSteno argues in “How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion.” They’ve honed their crafts through exploration and adaptation. “Over thousands of years,” he writes, “these experiments, carried out in the messy thick of life as opposed to sterile labs, have led to the design of what we might call spiritual technologies—tools and processes meant to soothe, move, convince, or otherwise tweak the mind.”
"Mr. DeSteno’s book aims to uncover why religions have landed on their particular and sometimes peculiar solutions. He doesn’t delve into the genetic and cultural evolutionary forces behind religion, in the manner of books like “Religion Explained,” by the cognitive anthropologist Pascal Boyer, and “Big Gods,” by the psychologist Ara Norenzayan. Instead, the author’s emphasis is more contemporary and results-oriented: Why, for instance, might the Jewish practice of covering mirrors salve the sting of grief?" ...
"As an atheist, I paid close attention to Mr. DeSteno’s other endeavor: “religioprospecting,” analogous to the bioprospecting in which scientists look for potential cures in folk remedies. In his own research aimed at improving the human condition, he writes, “I was surprised that many of the answers I found aligned with religious ideas.” Do spiritual technologies work without magical thinking?
"Often, they do. Here, Mr. DeSteno echoes books like “Religion for Atheists,” by the philosopher Alain de Botton, and “The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality,” by the philosopher André Comte-Sponville. But he comes armed with evidence from his own lab and others (and admits when the data aren’t quite there)." ...
"One could argue that religion can’t take full credit for pioneering the value of mindfulness, community, ritual, gratitude and the rest. But for much of human history, it is how they have been embedded in culture. Religion remains a rich resource for open-minded unbelievers, a source of inherent meaning for the majority of the world who do worship, and a set of traditions that psychological science may even be able to enrich as they continue to evolve."
These people were obviously never present for an Uncle Razib lecture where you promise to make them famous. Promises made...promises kept.
Some other good byzantine history reading:
Michael Angold - The Byzantine Empire 1025-1204: A Political History. This takes you through an incredible sequence of events. The Romans are on top of the world in 1025, and in 50 years they have completely blown it and are losing their Anatolian heartland, which they had always been able to defend against the Arabs. Then they get it back together for about 100 years with the Komnenos dynasty and then fall apart again. The Larger lesson being that political systems and state structures can be quite fragile and respond to stress in self-destructive ways.
Mark Whittow - The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025. Takes you from the 7th century collapse through the long recovery and closes at the peak with strong focus on the limitations imposed by geography. Very interesting take on Basil II, whom he sees as a "traditionalist/reactionary" repudiating the 10th century conquest era with its focus on multi-ethnic alliances with Armenians and other eastern non-orthodox christians in favor of a return to Constantinople-centered orthodoxy. Implicit is the thought that the decline began with Basil, not after him.
Any books by Anthony Kaldellis. Kaldellis likes to stir things up and some of his arguments seem a bit out there as in Byzantine Republic, but in Romanland he is pretty hard to argue with on the fundamental Roman identity of the empire, and the bad faith agenda of the western world in trying to obscure that identity. Kaldellis has an interesting podcast as well.
Peter Sarris in Empires of Faith is looking at the entire late antique / early medieval world, not just Byzantium, but very interesting throughout, and interesting views on the 7th century collapse and early attempts at recovery.
Razib: I thought this might be up your alley:
"‘How God Works’ Review: The Science of Spiritualism: Religious rituals change us through several mechanisms. Celebrations stick in memory—and public commitments bind us to our paths." By Matthew Hutson "Sept. 30, 2021"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-god-works-review-the-science-of-spiritualism-11633040520
"... churches are familiar with change, the psychologist David DeSteno argues in “How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion.” They’ve honed their crafts through exploration and adaptation. “Over thousands of years,” he writes, “these experiments, carried out in the messy thick of life as opposed to sterile labs, have led to the design of what we might call spiritual technologies—tools and processes meant to soothe, move, convince, or otherwise tweak the mind.”
"Mr. DeSteno’s book aims to uncover why religions have landed on their particular and sometimes peculiar solutions. He doesn’t delve into the genetic and cultural evolutionary forces behind religion, in the manner of books like “Religion Explained,” by the cognitive anthropologist Pascal Boyer, and “Big Gods,” by the psychologist Ara Norenzayan. Instead, the author’s emphasis is more contemporary and results-oriented: Why, for instance, might the Jewish practice of covering mirrors salve the sting of grief?" ...
"As an atheist, I paid close attention to Mr. DeSteno’s other endeavor: “religioprospecting,” analogous to the bioprospecting in which scientists look for potential cures in folk remedies. In his own research aimed at improving the human condition, he writes, “I was surprised that many of the answers I found aligned with religious ideas.” Do spiritual technologies work without magical thinking?
"Often, they do. Here, Mr. DeSteno echoes books like “Religion for Atheists,” by the philosopher Alain de Botton, and “The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality,” by the philosopher André Comte-Sponville. But he comes armed with evidence from his own lab and others (and admits when the data aren’t quite there)." ...
"One could argue that religion can’t take full credit for pioneering the value of mindfulness, community, ritual, gratitude and the rest. But for much of human history, it is how they have been embedded in culture. Religion remains a rich resource for open-minded unbelievers, a source of inherent meaning for the majority of the world who do worship, and a set of traditions that psychological science may even be able to enrich as they continue to evolve."