Thinking About Religion: Extending The Cognitive Science Of Religion

Thinking about Religion Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion Series Editors: Yujin Nagasawa and Erik Wielenberg Titles include: Zain Ali FAITH, PHILOSOPHY AND THE REFLECTIVE MUSLIM István Aranyosi GOD, MIND AND LOGICAL SPACE A Revisionary Approach to Divinity Yujin Nagasawa (editor) SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Aaron Rizzieri PRAGMATIC ENCROACHMENT, RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND PRACTICE Aaron C.T. Smith THINKING ABOUT RELIGION Extending the Cognitive Science of Religion Eric Charles Steinhart YOUR DIGITAL AFTERLIVES Computational Theories of Life after Death Forthcoming titles: Trent Dougherty THE PROBLEM OF ANIMAL PAIN A Theodicy for All Creatures Great and Small Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–230–35443–2 Hardback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Thinking about Religion Extending the Cognitive Science of Religion Aaron C.T. Smith RMIT University, Australia © Aaron C.T. Smith 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-32474-0 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978-1-349-45902-5 ISBN 978-1-137-32475-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137324757 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Contents List of Illustrations ix Series Editors’ Preface 1 x In the Beginning: Reconsidering the Cognitive Science of Religion Introduction Establishing the boundaries Cognitive science: an approach to cognition The cognitive science of religion The ‘standard model’ of the cognitive science of religion 1. Ordinary, domain-specific cognitive functions support religious representations 2. Intuitive domain inferences are violated with minimally counterintuitive concepts 3. Agency detection leads to suppositions about the presence of supernatural agents 4. Intentionality inferences stimulate judgements about the intentions of supernatural agents 5. Emoti