Johan De Smedt
Biographic Data
| ID | 135375 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johan De Smedt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Johan |
| FAMILY NAME | De Smedt |
| SIGNATURE | DE SMEDT J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ghent University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6732-5406 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 29 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1989 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The restaurant at the beginning of the universe: Natural scientists on ultimate reality, science, and religion
This qualitative interview-based study examines metaphysical views of natural scientists (n = 35), focusing on the relationship of self to the universe. We use as a framework the idea of oneness , the view that the universe is fundamentally one thing. We examine how scientists situate their positions on religion and ultimate reality engaging with this concept. Our main research questions are: (1) How do natural scientists conceive of ultimate rea…
Empirically Engaged Evolutionary Ethics
Empirically Engaged Evolutionary Ethics
Cognition and Visual Art
Cognitive and other scientifically informed approaches to the visual arts and aesthetics have the potential to explain the emergence, development, and cross‐cultural distribution of art forms. Neuroaesthetics explores the neural underpinnings of art appreciation and how the architecture of the brain may constrain the cross‐cultural success of art forms. Approaches in evolutionary psychology focus on the ultimate causes of artistic behavior and ex…
Naturalizing natural theology
We would like to thank the commenters for their stimulating responses to A Natural History of Natural Theology. Natural theological arguments, such as the design, cosmological, and moral arguments
Mathematical symbols as epistemic actions
The value of epistemic disagreement in scientific practice. The case of Homo floresiensis
Supernatural punishment: What traits are being selected
In their critical analysis of supernatural punishment (SP) theories, Schloss and Murray (2011) tease apart two distinct but often conflated adaptationist approaches to religion: those that argue th
In Memoriam
The Cognitive Appeal of the Cosmological Argument
The cosmological argument has enjoyed and still enjoys substantial popularity in various traditions of natural theology. We propose that its enduring appeal is due at least in part to its concurrence with human cognitive predispositions, in particular intuitions about causality and agency. These intuitions seem to be a stable part of human cognition. We will consider implications for the justification of the cosmological argument from externalist…
The Implications of the Cognitive Sciences for the Relation Between Religion and Science Education: The Case of Evolutionary Theory
In Mysterious Ways: On petitionary prayer and subtle forms of supernatural causation
The psychology of prayer and supernatural causation has received surprisingly little attention from empirical researchers. This paper discusses implicit belief patterns about the causal mechanisms by which God effects changes in the world. The authors offer a psychological account of belief in supernatural causation based on the existing empirical literature on petitionary prayer, incorporating mechanisms of psychological self-correction and rati…
Child marriages in Rwandan refugee camps
The Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania witnessed the marriages of very young adolescents: girls as young as 13-14 married boys of 14-15 years, boys they often did not even know. These marriages usually did not last very long; after a few months many girls were forced to leave-sent away by their husband. People of both sexes and all ages, when asked about the problems in the camp, would always mention these child marriages as one of the biggest pro…
Editoriaal
Preliminary Material
The value of epistemic disagreement in scientific practice. The case of Homo floresiensis
Child marriages in Rwandan refugee camps
The Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania witnessed the marriages of very young adolescents: girls as young as 13-14 married boys of 14-15 years, boys they often did not even know. These marriages usually did not last very long; after a few months many girls were forced to leave-sent away by their husband. People of both sexes and all ages, when asked about the problems in the camp, would always mention these child marriages as one of the biggest pro…
Mathematical symbols as epistemic actions
The Implications of the Cognitive Sciences for the Relation Between Religion and Science Education: The Case of Evolutionary Theory
In Mysterious Ways: On petitionary prayer and subtle forms of supernatural causation
The psychology of prayer and supernatural causation has received surprisingly little attention from empirical researchers. This paper discusses implicit belief patterns about the causal mechanisms by which God effects changes in the world. The authors offer a psychological account of belief in supernatural causation based on the existing empirical literature on petitionary prayer, incorporating mechanisms of psychological self-correction and rati…
Editoriaal
Preliminary Material
Child marriages in Rwandan refugee camps
The Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania witnessed the marriages of very young adolescents: girls as young as 13-14 married boys of 14-15 years, boys they often did not even know. These marriages usually did not last very long; after a few months many girls were forced to leave-sent away by their husband. People of both sexes and all ages, when asked about the problems in the camp, would always mention these child marriages as one of the biggest pro…
Supernatural punishment: What traits are being selected
In their critical analysis of supernatural punishment (SP) theories, Schloss and Murray (2011) tease apart two distinct but often conflated adaptationist approaches to religion: those that argue th
In Memoriam
The Cognitive Appeal of the Cosmological Argument
The cosmological argument has enjoyed and still enjoys substantial popularity in various traditions of natural theology. We propose that its enduring appeal is due at least in part to its concurrence with human cognitive predispositions, in particular intuitions about causality and agency. These intuitions seem to be a stable part of human cognition. We will consider implications for the justification of the cosmological argument from externalist…
The Implications of the Cognitive Sciences for the Relation Between Religion and Science Education: The Case of Evolutionary Theory
In Mysterious Ways: On petitionary prayer and subtle forms of supernatural causation
The psychology of prayer and supernatural causation has received surprisingly little attention from empirical researchers. This paper discusses implicit belief patterns about the causal mechanisms by which God effects changes in the world. The authors offer a psychological account of belief in supernatural causation based on the existing empirical literature on petitionary prayer, incorporating mechanisms of psychological self-correction and rati…
Mathematical symbols as epistemic actions
The value of epistemic disagreement in scientific practice. The case of Homo floresiensis
Naturalizing natural theology
We would like to thank the commenters for their stimulating responses to A Natural History of Natural Theology. Natural theological arguments, such as the design, cosmological, and moral arguments
Cognition and Visual Art
Cognitive and other scientifically informed approaches to the visual arts and aesthetics have the potential to explain the emergence, development, and cross‐cultural distribution of art forms. Neuroaesthetics explores the neural underpinnings of art appreciation and how the architecture of the brain may constrain the cross‐cultural success of art forms. Approaches in evolutionary psychology focus on the ultimate causes of artistic behavior and ex…
Empirically Engaged Evolutionary Ethics
Empirically Engaged Evolutionary Ethics
The restaurant at the beginning of the universe: Natural scientists on ultimate reality, science, and religion
This qualitative interview-based study examines metaphysical views of natural scientists (n = 35), focusing on the relationship of self to the universe. We use as a framework the idea of oneness , the view that the universe is fundamentally one thing. We examine how scientists situate their positions on religion and ultimate reality engaging with this concept. Our main research questions are: (1) How do natural scientists conceive of ultimate rea…
Psychology (8 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Evolution and Science Education (4 works) · Cognition (3 works) · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation (3 works) · History (3 works) · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment (3 works) · Social Psychology (3 works) · Sociology (3 works)