Emma E. A. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195323351
- eISBN:
- 9780199785575
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323351.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Mind Possessed examines spirit concepts and mediumistic practices from a cognitive scientific perspective. Drawing primarily, but not exclusively, from ethnographic data collected ...
More
The Mind Possessed examines spirit concepts and mediumistic practices from a cognitive scientific perspective. Drawing primarily, but not exclusively, from ethnographic data collected during eighteen months of fieldwork in Belém, northern Brazil, this book combines fine‐grained description and analysis of mediumistic activities in an Afro‐Brazilian cult house with a scientific account of the emergence and the spread of the tradition's core concepts. The book develops a novel theoretical approach to questions that are of central importance to the scientific study of transmission of culture, particularly concepts of spirits, spirit healing, and spirit possession. Making a radical departure from established anthropological, medicalist, and sociological analyses of spirit phenomena, the book looks instead to instructive insights from the cognitive sciences and offers a set of testable hypotheses concerning the spread and appeal of spirit concepts and possession activities. Predictions and claims are grounded in the data collected and sourced in specific ethnographic contexts. The data presented open new lines of enquiry for the cognitive science of religion (a rapidly growing field of interdisciplinary scholarship) and challenge the existing but outdated theoretical frameworks within which spirit possession practices have traditionally been understood.Less
The Mind Possessed examines spirit concepts and mediumistic practices from a cognitive scientific perspective. Drawing primarily, but not exclusively, from ethnographic data collected during eighteen months of fieldwork in Belém, northern Brazil, this book combines fine‐grained description and analysis of mediumistic activities in an Afro‐Brazilian cult house with a scientific account of the emergence and the spread of the tradition's core concepts. The book develops a novel theoretical approach to questions that are of central importance to the scientific study of transmission of culture, particularly concepts of spirits, spirit healing, and spirit possession. Making a radical departure from established anthropological, medicalist, and sociological analyses of spirit phenomena, the book looks instead to instructive insights from the cognitive sciences and offers a set of testable hypotheses concerning the spread and appeal of spirit concepts and possession activities. Predictions and claims are grounded in the data collected and sourced in specific ethnographic contexts. The data presented open new lines of enquiry for the cognitive science of religion (a rapidly growing field of interdisciplinary scholarship) and challenge the existing but outdated theoretical frameworks within which spirit possession practices have traditionally been understood.
Todd Tremlin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305340
- eISBN:
- 9780199784721
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305345.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This book provides an introduction to the cognitive science of religion, a new discipline of study that explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas and behavior on the basis of evolved ...
More
This book provides an introduction to the cognitive science of religion, a new discipline of study that explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas and behavior on the basis of evolved mental structures and functions of the human brain. Belief in gods and the social formation of religion have their genesis in biology — in powerful, often hidden, processes of cognition that all humans share. Arguing that we cannot understand what we think until we first understand how we think, the book describes ways in which evolution by natural selection molded the modern human mind, resulting in mental modularity, innate intelligences, and species-typical modes of thought. The book details many of the adapted features of the brain — agent detection, theory of mind, social cognition, and others — focusing on how mental endowments inherited from our ancestral past lead people to naturally entertain religious ideas, such as the god concepts that are ubiquitous the world over. In addition to introducing the major themes, theories, and thinkers in the cognitive science of religion, the book also advances the current discussion by moving beyond explanations for individual religious beliefs and behaviors to the operation of culture and religious systems. Drawing on dual-process models of cognition developed in social psychology, the book argues that the same cognitive constraints that shape human thought also work as a selective force on the content and durability of religions.Less
This book provides an introduction to the cognitive science of religion, a new discipline of study that explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas and behavior on the basis of evolved mental structures and functions of the human brain. Belief in gods and the social formation of religion have their genesis in biology — in powerful, often hidden, processes of cognition that all humans share. Arguing that we cannot understand what we think until we first understand how we think, the book describes ways in which evolution by natural selection molded the modern human mind, resulting in mental modularity, innate intelligences, and species-typical modes of thought. The book details many of the adapted features of the brain — agent detection, theory of mind, social cognition, and others — focusing on how mental endowments inherited from our ancestral past lead people to naturally entertain religious ideas, such as the god concepts that are ubiquitous the world over. In addition to introducing the major themes, theories, and thinkers in the cognitive science of religion, the book also advances the current discussion by moving beyond explanations for individual religious beliefs and behaviors to the operation of culture and religious systems. Drawing on dual-process models of cognition developed in social psychology, the book argues that the same cognitive constraints that shape human thought also work as a selective force on the content and durability of religions.
Fraser Watts and Léon P. Turner (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199688081
- eISBN:
- 9780191767722
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199688081.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Religion and Society
The cognitive science of religion is an inherently heterogeneous subject, incorporating theory and data from anthropology, psychology, sociology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy of mind amongst ...
More
The cognitive science of religion is an inherently heterogeneous subject, incorporating theory and data from anthropology, psychology, sociology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy of mind amongst other subjects. One increasingly influential area of research in this field is concerned specifically with exploring the relationship between the evolution of the human mind, the evolution of culture in general, and the origins and subsequent development of religion. This research has exerted a strong influence on many areas of religious studies over the last twenty years, but, for some, the so-called ‘evolutionary cognitive science of religion’ remains a deeply problematic enterprise. This book’s primary aim is to engage critically and constructively with this complex and diverse body of research from a wide range of perspectives. To these ends, the book brings together authors from a variety of relevant disciplines, in the thorough exploration of many of the key debates in the field. These include, for example: Can certain aspects of religion be considered adaptive, or are they evolutionary by-products? Is the evolutionary cognitive science of religion compatible with theism? Is the evolutionary cognitive approach compatible with other, more traditional approaches to the study of religion? To what extent is religion shaped by cultural evolutionary processes? Is the evolutionary account of the mind that underpins the evolutionary cognitive approach the best or only available account? Written in accessible language, with an introductory chapter by Ilkka Pyssiäinen, a leading scholar in the field, this book is a valuable resource for specialists, undergraduate and graduate students, and newcomers to the evolutionary cognitive science of religion.Less
The cognitive science of religion is an inherently heterogeneous subject, incorporating theory and data from anthropology, psychology, sociology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy of mind amongst other subjects. One increasingly influential area of research in this field is concerned specifically with exploring the relationship between the evolution of the human mind, the evolution of culture in general, and the origins and subsequent development of religion. This research has exerted a strong influence on many areas of religious studies over the last twenty years, but, for some, the so-called ‘evolutionary cognitive science of religion’ remains a deeply problematic enterprise. This book’s primary aim is to engage critically and constructively with this complex and diverse body of research from a wide range of perspectives. To these ends, the book brings together authors from a variety of relevant disciplines, in the thorough exploration of many of the key debates in the field. These include, for example: Can certain aspects of religion be considered adaptive, or are they evolutionary by-products? Is the evolutionary cognitive science of religion compatible with theism? Is the evolutionary cognitive approach compatible with other, more traditional approaches to the study of religion? To what extent is religion shaped by cultural evolutionary processes? Is the evolutionary account of the mind that underpins the evolutionary cognitive approach the best or only available account? Written in accessible language, with an introductory chapter by Ilkka Pyssiäinen, a leading scholar in the field, this book is a valuable resource for specialists, undergraduate and graduate students, and newcomers to the evolutionary cognitive science of religion.
ROGER BECK
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199216130
- eISBN:
- 9780191712128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216130.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter explains how the Cognitive Science of Religion can serve as a powerful new method for exploring the making of representations in a religion and the cognitive processes by which an ...
More
This chapter explains how the Cognitive Science of Religion can serve as a powerful new method for exploring the making of representations in a religion and the cognitive processes by which an initiate apprehends a religion's symbol system. Following Dan Sperber's approach (Explaining Culture), all religions may be described in terms of the interplay of representations over time: public representations in the media of sacred spaces, physical images, performed rituals, and words uttered and recorded in text; and private representations in the minds of individual adherents. A fortiori, the negotiation of representations in Mithraism can have been no different. An appendix draws on Lucian's treatment of audience response in his essay On the Dance to show how the negotiation of representation worked in a comparable situation in antiquity.Less
This chapter explains how the Cognitive Science of Religion can serve as a powerful new method for exploring the making of representations in a religion and the cognitive processes by which an initiate apprehends a religion's symbol system. Following Dan Sperber's approach (Explaining Culture), all religions may be described in terms of the interplay of representations over time: public representations in the media of sacred spaces, physical images, performed rituals, and words uttered and recorded in text; and private representations in the minds of individual adherents. A fortiori, the negotiation of representations in Mithraism can have been no different. An appendix draws on Lucian's treatment of audience response in his essay On the Dance to show how the negotiation of representation worked in a comparable situation in antiquity.
Risto Uro
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199661176
- eISBN:
- 9780191793455
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199661176.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religious Studies
This chapter introduces the reader to the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR), especially to those aspects of this new field that are relevant for a deeper understanding of the cognitive theories ...
More
This chapter introduces the reader to the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR), especially to those aspects of this new field that are relevant for a deeper understanding of the cognitive theories used in this book. CSR is a research programme which draws on a growing body of knowledge from the cognitive and evolutionary sciences to explain human religiosity. It is a pluralistic movement, comprising different schools and currents; what they have in common is the effort to achieve explanatory and testable theories, as well as a multilevel analysis of religious phenomena. The survey of the schools and currents in CSR provides a basis for suggesting a ‘socio-cognitive approach’ to early Christian rituals, relying on cognitive theories of ritual that operate at both a social and a cognitive level. Three perspectives on ritual emerge from the discussion, described by the keywords ‘action’, ‘cooperation’, and ‘religious knowledge’.Less
This chapter introduces the reader to the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR), especially to those aspects of this new field that are relevant for a deeper understanding of the cognitive theories used in this book. CSR is a research programme which draws on a growing body of knowledge from the cognitive and evolutionary sciences to explain human religiosity. It is a pluralistic movement, comprising different schools and currents; what they have in common is the effort to achieve explanatory and testable theories, as well as a multilevel analysis of religious phenomena. The survey of the schools and currents in CSR provides a basis for suggesting a ‘socio-cognitive approach’ to early Christian rituals, relying on cognitive theories of ritual that operate at both a social and a cognitive level. Three perspectives on ritual emerge from the discussion, described by the keywords ‘action’, ‘cooperation’, and ‘religious knowledge’.
Nathaniel B. Levtow
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190249588
- eISBN:
- 9780190249601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190249588.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter explores the phenomenon of iconoclasm from the perspectives of cognitive science. It argues that iconoclasm engages the same cognitive and ritual dynamics as iconism, only from an ...
More
This chapter explores the phenomenon of iconoclasm from the perspectives of cognitive science. It argues that iconoclasm engages the same cognitive and ritual dynamics as iconism, only from an oppositional standpoint. These dynamics include the attribution of mind and agency to all things called gods in ancient West Asia and associated ritual practices that generate a conceptual fluidity between artifacts and living things. Iconic sacrificial cult is identified as a cognitively optimal expression of these natural, evolutionarily successful human tendencies toward anthropomorphic projection and conceptual fluidity. Iconoclasm is identified as a mode of transmission for non-optimal aniconic traditions, the long-term success of which depend on memorable violence against images.Less
This chapter explores the phenomenon of iconoclasm from the perspectives of cognitive science. It argues that iconoclasm engages the same cognitive and ritual dynamics as iconism, only from an oppositional standpoint. These dynamics include the attribution of mind and agency to all things called gods in ancient West Asia and associated ritual practices that generate a conceptual fluidity between artifacts and living things. Iconic sacrificial cult is identified as a cognitively optimal expression of these natural, evolutionarily successful human tendencies toward anthropomorphic projection and conceptual fluidity. Iconoclasm is identified as a mode of transmission for non-optimal aniconic traditions, the long-term success of which depend on memorable violence against images.
Aku Visala
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199688081
- eISBN:
- 9780191767722
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199688081.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Religion and Society
It is commonly assumed that the cognitive and evolutionary explanations of religion make the truth of theism more improbable than not. Here, two interrelated questions will be examined. First, what ...
More
It is commonly assumed that the cognitive and evolutionary explanations of religion make the truth of theism more improbable than not. Here, two interrelated questions will be examined. First, what is the relationship between the cognitive study of religion and evolutionary psychology? This chapter will examine how general critiques of evolutionary psychology have been treated by CSR scholars seeks, and suggest that little consensus currently exists over this matter. Second, what, if any, are the implications for theism if the cognitive study of religion is explicitly grounded in evolutionary psychology? It will be argued that the answer hinges on the religious implications of the evolutionary perspective in general. It is suggested that evolutionary theory is compatible with theism, but that some formulations of evolutionary psychology may conflict with some specifically Christian doctrines, such as certain accounts of original sin and some other aspects of theological anthropology.Less
It is commonly assumed that the cognitive and evolutionary explanations of religion make the truth of theism more improbable than not. Here, two interrelated questions will be examined. First, what is the relationship between the cognitive study of religion and evolutionary psychology? This chapter will examine how general critiques of evolutionary psychology have been treated by CSR scholars seeks, and suggest that little consensus currently exists over this matter. Second, what, if any, are the implications for theism if the cognitive study of religion is explicitly grounded in evolutionary psychology? It will be argued that the answer hinges on the religious implications of the evolutionary perspective in general. It is suggested that evolutionary theory is compatible with theism, but that some formulations of evolutionary psychology may conflict with some specifically Christian doctrines, such as certain accounts of original sin and some other aspects of theological anthropology.
Mark Baker and Dean Zimmerman
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190639679
- eISBN:
- 9780190639709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190639679.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter focuses on a gap in existing cognitive scientific explanations of religion: although they may explain various religious beliefs, they are weak at explaining religious ...
More
This chapter focuses on a gap in existing cognitive scientific explanations of religion: although they may explain various religious beliefs, they are weak at explaining religious experiences—including the very perception-like experiences that believers often take as grounding their belief in God. The account argues that cognitive science of religion (CSR) to date provides neither the full-blown concept of a deity nor dedicated cognitive resources for arriving at the perception of one. The gap is not inevitable, however: it is shown how certain religious experiences could indeed qualify as direct perceptions of God, on a traditional model of perception. Moreover, one can explain how humans acquired the conceptual and computational resources to perceive supernatural beings by supposing that human beings have actually interacted with such beings in evolutionarily significant ways throughout history. The chapter closes with some epistemic implications of looking at CSR in this “reformed” way.Less
This chapter focuses on a gap in existing cognitive scientific explanations of religion: although they may explain various religious beliefs, they are weak at explaining religious experiences—including the very perception-like experiences that believers often take as grounding their belief in God. The account argues that cognitive science of religion (CSR) to date provides neither the full-blown concept of a deity nor dedicated cognitive resources for arriving at the perception of one. The gap is not inevitable, however: it is shown how certain religious experiences could indeed qualify as direct perceptions of God, on a traditional model of perception. Moreover, one can explain how humans acquired the conceptual and computational resources to perceive supernatural beings by supposing that human beings have actually interacted with such beings in evolutionarily significant ways throughout history. The chapter closes with some epistemic implications of looking at CSR in this “reformed” way.
Oliver Freiberger
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199965007
- eISBN:
- 9780190929107
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199965007.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, World Religions
This chapter addresses theoretical critiques that have been raised and challenges with which comparison is confronted. It first demonstrates that comparison has been used in service of different and ...
More
This chapter addresses theoretical critiques that have been raised and challenges with which comparison is confronted. It first demonstrates that comparison has been used in service of different and contradictory agendas—affirmative or critical of religion—and is therefore not tied to any specific ideological framework. It discusses the most common objections: that comparative studies decontextualize and essentialize religious phenomena. It then engages with postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques of the comparative method and their insistence on acknowledging difference. Turning to the opposite side of the academic spectrum, the chapter reviews the relation of naturalistic approaches (such as the cognitive science of religion) to comparison and their focus on universals and sameness. Acknowledging the critiques and challenges and recognizing their limitations sets the stage for the reflections about comparative methodology in Chapter 3.Less
This chapter addresses theoretical critiques that have been raised and challenges with which comparison is confronted. It first demonstrates that comparison has been used in service of different and contradictory agendas—affirmative or critical of religion—and is therefore not tied to any specific ideological framework. It discusses the most common objections: that comparative studies decontextualize and essentialize religious phenomena. It then engages with postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques of the comparative method and their insistence on acknowledging difference. Turning to the opposite side of the academic spectrum, the chapter reviews the relation of naturalistic approaches (such as the cognitive science of religion) to comparison and their focus on universals and sameness. Acknowledging the critiques and challenges and recognizing their limitations sets the stage for the reflections about comparative methodology in Chapter 3.
Hugh Nicholson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190455347
- eISBN:
- 9780190455361
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190455347.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter sets forth the basic thesis of the book, viz., that the development of counterintuitive doctrines like No-self and the Trinity can be understood in terms of social identity processes. It ...
More
This chapter sets forth the basic thesis of the book, viz., that the development of counterintuitive doctrines like No-self and the Trinity can be understood in terms of social identity processes. It begins with the observation that both doctrines exemplify the concept of “theological correctness” in the cognitive science of religion (CSR). That is, both doctrines, despite being central to the identities of their respective traditions, are curiously irrelevant to the daily lives most of their adherents. The category of theological correctness foregrounds the distinction between what can be called the cognitive and ideological dimensions of religious ideas. It suggests, moreover, that an explanation for the development of doctrines like consubstantiality and No-self is to be found at the “ideological” level of group dynamics. In order to provide the theoretical background of this thesis, the chapter gives an overview of both the cognitive science of religion and social identity theory.Less
This chapter sets forth the basic thesis of the book, viz., that the development of counterintuitive doctrines like No-self and the Trinity can be understood in terms of social identity processes. It begins with the observation that both doctrines exemplify the concept of “theological correctness” in the cognitive science of religion (CSR). That is, both doctrines, despite being central to the identities of their respective traditions, are curiously irrelevant to the daily lives most of their adherents. The category of theological correctness foregrounds the distinction between what can be called the cognitive and ideological dimensions of religious ideas. It suggests, moreover, that an explanation for the development of doctrines like consubstantiality and No-self is to be found at the “ideological” level of group dynamics. In order to provide the theoretical background of this thesis, the chapter gives an overview of both the cognitive science of religion and social identity theory.
István Czachesz
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198779865
- eISBN:
- 9780191825880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198779865.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies
This chapter provides an introduction to the field of cognitive science and outlines the program of a cognitive turn in New Testament Studies. The chapter explains the background and significance of ...
More
This chapter provides an introduction to the field of cognitive science and outlines the program of a cognitive turn in New Testament Studies. The chapter explains the background and significance of the cognitive turn in psychology and other disciplines and also discusses basic research questions concerning the human mind. The question is raised how the human mind manages a variety of cognitive tasks efficiently, and theories of modularity as well as different accounts of situated cognition are introduced. Following a brief outline of the Cognitive Science of Religion, the final part of the chapter considers what the program of a cognitive turn in New Testament Studies can promise.Less
This chapter provides an introduction to the field of cognitive science and outlines the program of a cognitive turn in New Testament Studies. The chapter explains the background and significance of the cognitive turn in psychology and other disciplines and also discusses basic research questions concerning the human mind. The question is raised how the human mind manages a variety of cognitive tasks efficiently, and theories of modularity as well as different accounts of situated cognition are introduced. Following a brief outline of the Cognitive Science of Religion, the final part of the chapter considers what the program of a cognitive turn in New Testament Studies can promise.
Risto Uro
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199661176
- eISBN:
- 9780191793455
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199661176.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religious Studies
The rise of early Christianity has been examined from a myriad of perspectives, but until recently ritual has been a neglected topic. This book argues that ritual theory is indispensable for the ...
More
The rise of early Christianity has been examined from a myriad of perspectives, but until recently ritual has been a neglected topic. This book argues that ritual theory is indispensable for the study of Christian beginnings. It also makes a strong case for the application of theories and insights from the Cognitive Science of Religion, a field that has established itself as a vigorous movement in Religious Studies over the past two decades. The book develops a ‘socio-cognitive’ approach to the study of early Christian rituals, seeking to integrate a social-level analysis with findings from the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. Ritual and Christian Beginnings provides an overview of how ritual has been approached in previous scholarship, including reasons for its neglect, and introduces the reader to the emerging fields of Ritual Studies and the Cognitive Science of Religion. In particular, it explores the ways in which cognitive theories of ritual can shed new light on issues discussed by early Christian scholars, and opens up new questions and avenues for further research. The socio-cognitive approach to ritual is applied to a number of test cases, including John the Baptist, the ritual healing practised by Jesus and the early Christians, the social life of Pauline Christianity, and the development of early Christian baptismal practices. The analysis creates building blocks for a new account of Christian beginnings, highlighting the role of ritual innovation, cooperative signalling, and the importance of bodily actions for the generation and transmission of religious knowledge.Less
The rise of early Christianity has been examined from a myriad of perspectives, but until recently ritual has been a neglected topic. This book argues that ritual theory is indispensable for the study of Christian beginnings. It also makes a strong case for the application of theories and insights from the Cognitive Science of Religion, a field that has established itself as a vigorous movement in Religious Studies over the past two decades. The book develops a ‘socio-cognitive’ approach to the study of early Christian rituals, seeking to integrate a social-level analysis with findings from the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. Ritual and Christian Beginnings provides an overview of how ritual has been approached in previous scholarship, including reasons for its neglect, and introduces the reader to the emerging fields of Ritual Studies and the Cognitive Science of Religion. In particular, it explores the ways in which cognitive theories of ritual can shed new light on issues discussed by early Christian scholars, and opens up new questions and avenues for further research. The socio-cognitive approach to ritual is applied to a number of test cases, including John the Baptist, the ritual healing practised by Jesus and the early Christians, the social life of Pauline Christianity, and the development of early Christian baptismal practices. The analysis creates building blocks for a new account of Christian beginnings, highlighting the role of ritual innovation, cooperative signalling, and the importance of bodily actions for the generation and transmission of religious knowledge.
Wesley J. Wildman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198815990
- eISBN:
- 9780191853524
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198815990.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
To appreciate the risks and benefits of anthropomorphism, it is important (1) to appreciate the genius and limitations of human cognition, (2) to compare ultimacy models to see what difference ...
More
To appreciate the risks and benefits of anthropomorphism, it is important (1) to appreciate the genius and limitations of human cognition, (2) to compare ultimacy models to see what difference anthropomorphic modeling techniques make, and (3) to entertain the possibility of an apophatic approach to ultimate reality that relativizes and relates ultimacy models. An apophatic approach to ultimate reality relativizes ultimacy models but also implies a disintegrating metric that serves to relate ultimacy models to one another. Degree of anthropomorphism is an important component of this disintegrating metric. Comparative analysis helps manifest internal complexity in the idea of anthropomorphism by distinguishing three relatively independent dimensions: Intentionality Attribution, Rational Practicality, and Narrative Comprehensibility. Educational efforts stabilized in cultural traditions can confer on people the desire and ability to resist one or more dimensions of the anthropomorphic default modes of cognition to some degree.Less
To appreciate the risks and benefits of anthropomorphism, it is important (1) to appreciate the genius and limitations of human cognition, (2) to compare ultimacy models to see what difference anthropomorphic modeling techniques make, and (3) to entertain the possibility of an apophatic approach to ultimate reality that relativizes and relates ultimacy models. An apophatic approach to ultimate reality relativizes ultimacy models but also implies a disintegrating metric that serves to relate ultimacy models to one another. Degree of anthropomorphism is an important component of this disintegrating metric. Comparative analysis helps manifest internal complexity in the idea of anthropomorphism by distinguishing three relatively independent dimensions: Intentionality Attribution, Rational Practicality, and Narrative Comprehensibility. Educational efforts stabilized in cultural traditions can confer on people the desire and ability to resist one or more dimensions of the anthropomorphic default modes of cognition to some degree.
James W. Jones
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190927387
- eISBN:
- 9780190927417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190927387.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion
Taking embodiment seriously impacts the way religion is theorized in the discipline of cognitive psychology and in other religious studies disciplines, including theology. This chapter describes new ...
More
Taking embodiment seriously impacts the way religion is theorized in the discipline of cognitive psychology and in other religious studies disciplines, including theology. This chapter describes new avenues of research that follow from adopting an embodied perspective. An embodied perspective also transforms the way we think about traditional topics concerning religious knowledge. The often argued parallel between ordinary perceptual experience and certain religious experiences commonly described as religious perceptions is analyzed and an appreciative critique of William Alston’s 1991 book Perceiving God is offered. Arguments for conceiving of religious experience as a form of perception are strong but the argument as currently framed is seriously flawed psychologically. Reframing the argument in terms of an embodied-relational model strengthens it and supports the argument in this book that reason is on the side of those who choose a religiously lived life.Less
Taking embodiment seriously impacts the way religion is theorized in the discipline of cognitive psychology and in other religious studies disciplines, including theology. This chapter describes new avenues of research that follow from adopting an embodied perspective. An embodied perspective also transforms the way we think about traditional topics concerning religious knowledge. The often argued parallel between ordinary perceptual experience and certain religious experiences commonly described as religious perceptions is analyzed and an appreciative critique of William Alston’s 1991 book Perceiving God is offered. Arguments for conceiving of religious experience as a form of perception are strong but the argument as currently framed is seriously flawed psychologically. Reframing the argument in terms of an embodied-relational model strengthens it and supports the argument in this book that reason is on the side of those who choose a religiously lived life.
Edward Slingerland
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190842307
- eISBN:
- 9780190922955
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190842307.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
The topic of this chapter is a body of work from various branches of the cognitive sciences suggesting that the tendency to distinguish qualitatively between bodies and minds—between physical objects ...
More
The topic of this chapter is a body of work from various branches of the cognitive sciences suggesting that the tendency to distinguish qualitatively between bodies and minds—between physical objects subject to mechanical causality and agents capable of free will, planning, and intentionality—is a human cognitive universal. It develops reliably and early in human beings, a genetic inheritance shaped by the powerful adaptive pressures of social living. In addition, there is good evidence that this distinction between objects and agents reliability kicks off mind-body dualism, afterlife and soul beliefs, a perception of “meaning” in the world, and concepts of supernatural agency that share broad features across cultures and throughout history. These universals create suspicion of any claim that the early Chinese were strong mind-body holists. Relevant cognitive universals include Theory of Mind, concepts of psychological interiority, and basic supernatural, afterlife and soul beliefs.Less
The topic of this chapter is a body of work from various branches of the cognitive sciences suggesting that the tendency to distinguish qualitatively between bodies and minds—between physical objects subject to mechanical causality and agents capable of free will, planning, and intentionality—is a human cognitive universal. It develops reliably and early in human beings, a genetic inheritance shaped by the powerful adaptive pressures of social living. In addition, there is good evidence that this distinction between objects and agents reliability kicks off mind-body dualism, afterlife and soul beliefs, a perception of “meaning” in the world, and concepts of supernatural agency that share broad features across cultures and throughout history. These universals create suspicion of any claim that the early Chinese were strong mind-body holists. Relevant cognitive universals include Theory of Mind, concepts of psychological interiority, and basic supernatural, afterlife and soul beliefs.
Kelly Bulkeley
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199351534
- eISBN:
- 9780199351565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351534.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines the cross-cultural religious phenomenon of demonic seduction in dreams. The prevalence of these kinds of strangely intense, sexually tinged dreams has elicited fear and ...
More
This chapter examines the cross-cultural religious phenomenon of demonic seduction in dreams. The prevalence of these kinds of strangely intense, sexually tinged dreams has elicited fear and condemnation from religious authorities throughout history. This chapter looks at demonic seduction in the context of scientific research on big dreams. The discussion includes a detailed case study (“Sana,” a young Muslim woman in contemporary Jordan, possessed by a jinn), references to other religious traditions around the world, and theories from cognitive science and the psychology of religion. Special attention is given to the psychological notion of the unconscious and its role in dreaming and religious experience. The argument is developed that religious beliefs about demonic seduction in dreams have a basis in real psychological experience and legitimate biological concerns about potential threats to procreation.Less
This chapter examines the cross-cultural religious phenomenon of demonic seduction in dreams. The prevalence of these kinds of strangely intense, sexually tinged dreams has elicited fear and condemnation from religious authorities throughout history. This chapter looks at demonic seduction in the context of scientific research on big dreams. The discussion includes a detailed case study (“Sana,” a young Muslim woman in contemporary Jordan, possessed by a jinn), references to other religious traditions around the world, and theories from cognitive science and the psychology of religion. Special attention is given to the psychological notion of the unconscious and its role in dreaming and religious experience. The argument is developed that religious beliefs about demonic seduction in dreams have a basis in real psychological experience and legitimate biological concerns about potential threats to procreation.
Kelly Bulkeley
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199351534
- eISBN:
- 9780199351565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351534.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines the cross-cultural religious phenomenon of prophetic visions in dreams. The widespread occurrence of these kinds of visually intense, future-oriented dreams has prompted both ...
More
This chapter examines the cross-cultural religious phenomenon of prophetic visions in dreams. The widespread occurrence of these kinds of visually intense, future-oriented dreams has prompted both positive and negative attention from religious authorities throughout history. This chapter looks at prophetic vision in the context of scientific research on big dreams. The discussion includes a detailed case study (Perpetua, a young Christian woman in second-century C.E. Carthage who kept a dream diary while awaiting execution in a Roman coliseum), references to other religious traditions around the world, and theories from cognitive science and the psychology of religion. Special attention is given to the power of visual imagery in certain kinds of religious experience. The chapter argues that religions are naturally drawn to the anticipatory powers of dreaming, in which the human mind’s natural capacities for forethought are boosted by the brain’s innate tendency to generate spontaneous visionary experiences during sleep.Less
This chapter examines the cross-cultural religious phenomenon of prophetic visions in dreams. The widespread occurrence of these kinds of visually intense, future-oriented dreams has prompted both positive and negative attention from religious authorities throughout history. This chapter looks at prophetic vision in the context of scientific research on big dreams. The discussion includes a detailed case study (Perpetua, a young Christian woman in second-century C.E. Carthage who kept a dream diary while awaiting execution in a Roman coliseum), references to other religious traditions around the world, and theories from cognitive science and the psychology of religion. Special attention is given to the power of visual imagery in certain kinds of religious experience. The chapter argues that religions are naturally drawn to the anticipatory powers of dreaming, in which the human mind’s natural capacities for forethought are boosted by the brain’s innate tendency to generate spontaneous visionary experiences during sleep.
Cristine H Legare and Andrew Shtulman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198789710
- eISBN:
- 9780191841675
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198789710.003.0019
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
Humans use natural and supernatural explanations for phenomena such as illness, death, and human origins. These explanations are available not just to different individuals within a society, but to ...
More
Humans use natural and supernatural explanations for phenomena such as illness, death, and human origins. These explanations are available not just to different individuals within a society, but to the same individual, coexisting within a single mind. This chapter proposes that understanding the coexistence of qualitatively different explanations is fundamentally a cognitive–developmental endeavor, speaking to general questions of knowledge acquisition, socialization, and the interaction of cognition and culture. The chapter first reviews research demonstrating that coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations is not a short-lived, transitional phenomenon that wanes in the course of development, but is instead evident (and widespread) among adults. It then speculates on the psychological origins of coexistence and discusses implications for metacognition. Finally, directions are proposed for future research to inform understanding of how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations across content domains, development, and cultures.Less
Humans use natural and supernatural explanations for phenomena such as illness, death, and human origins. These explanations are available not just to different individuals within a society, but to the same individual, coexisting within a single mind. This chapter proposes that understanding the coexistence of qualitatively different explanations is fundamentally a cognitive–developmental endeavor, speaking to general questions of knowledge acquisition, socialization, and the interaction of cognition and culture. The chapter first reviews research demonstrating that coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations is not a short-lived, transitional phenomenon that wanes in the course of development, but is instead evident (and widespread) among adults. It then speculates on the psychological origins of coexistence and discusses implications for metacognition. Finally, directions are proposed for future research to inform understanding of how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations across content domains, development, and cultures.
Joshua C. Thurow
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199669776
- eISBN:
- 9780191778650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669776.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter discusses whether scientific attempts to explain religious beliefs cast doubt on theistic belief. Five different ways of ‘casting doubt’ are distinguished, and it is argued that work in ...
More
This chapter discusses whether scientific attempts to explain religious beliefs cast doubt on theistic belief. Five different ways of ‘casting doubt’ are distinguished, and it is argued that work in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) does not cast doubt on theistic belief in two of these ways. However, some work in CSR does cast doubt to some extent by way of undermining at least one argument for theism, namely, C.S. Lewis’s Argument from Desire. However, it is also argued that CSR does not undermine the cosmological and design arguments. Although CSR does cast some degree of doubt on theistic belief, it by no means follows that theistic belief is unjustified, or that it is not highly justified.Less
This chapter discusses whether scientific attempts to explain religious beliefs cast doubt on theistic belief. Five different ways of ‘casting doubt’ are distinguished, and it is argued that work in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) does not cast doubt on theistic belief in two of these ways. However, some work in CSR does cast doubt to some extent by way of undermining at least one argument for theism, namely, C.S. Lewis’s Argument from Desire. However, it is also argued that CSR does not undermine the cosmological and design arguments. Although CSR does cast some degree of doubt on theistic belief, it by no means follows that theistic belief is unjustified, or that it is not highly justified.
Jonathan Scourfield, Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Asma Khan, and Sameh Otri
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199600311
- eISBN:
- 9780191765421
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199600311.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam, Religious Studies
The authors conclude the book by taking stock of what has been learned about the process of religious nurture. The chapter returns to the four theoretical perspectives introduced in Chapter 1 and ...
More
The authors conclude the book by taking stock of what has been learned about the process of religious nurture. The chapter returns to the four theoretical perspectives introduced in Chapter 1 and discussed at various times throughout the book. These are cognitive transmission, embodiment and habitus, minority defence and the role of religious organizations. The authors argue that all four perspectives are needed to explain the development of a Muslim child’s religiosity and the relative success of religious nurture in Muslim families. The final chapter also considers the implications for public services of how children are brought up to be Muslims in practice.Less
The authors conclude the book by taking stock of what has been learned about the process of religious nurture. The chapter returns to the four theoretical perspectives introduced in Chapter 1 and discussed at various times throughout the book. These are cognitive transmission, embodiment and habitus, minority defence and the role of religious organizations. The authors argue that all four perspectives are needed to explain the development of a Muslim child’s religiosity and the relative success of religious nurture in Muslim families. The final chapter also considers the implications for public services of how children are brought up to be Muslims in practice.
