Joseph Sommer
Biographic Data
| ID | 6773296 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joseph Sommer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joseph |
| FAMILY NAME | Sommer |
| SIGNATURE | SOMMER J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8541-6405 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 4 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 4 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Coherence and the memorability of supernatural concepts
A prominent theory in the cognitive science of religion proposes that supernatural concepts share a common structure that contributes to their cultural success. While concepts of all kinds - i.e., natural and supernatural - are theorized to rely on inferences drawn from intuitive ontological categories, supernatural concepts also violate these ontological categories. A few violations of intuitive ontologies promote memorability, however, too many…
Religion as belief, a realist theory
Van Leeuwen’s Religion as Make-Believe, A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity argues that religious and political beliefs are fundamentally different from mundane, factual beliefs and represent a cognitive attitude more akin to imagining. To ground this difference, Van Leeuwen proposes four principles defining factual beliefs: ‘involuntariness’ mandates that people cannot choose what they believe; ‘no compartmentalization’ says that…
Engaging, authoritative, but also evidential
The Memorability of Supernatural Concepts
We evaluate the literature on the memorability of supernatural concepts (e.g., gods, ghosts, souls), itself part of a growing body of work in the emerging cognitive science of religion (Barrett, 2007). Specifically, we focus on Boyer’s (1994a, 2000, 2001) Minimally Counterintuitive ( MCI ) hypothesis according to which supernatural concepts tap a cognitively privileged memory-enhancing mechanism linked to violations of default intuitive inference…
The Memorability of Supernatural Concepts
We evaluate the literature on the memorability of supernatural concepts (e.g., gods, ghosts, souls), itself part of a growing body of work in the emerging cognitive science of religion (Barrett, 2007). Specifically, we focus on Boyer’s (1994a, 2000, 2001) Minimally Counterintuitive ( MCI ) hypothesis according to which supernatural concepts tap a cognitively privileged memory-enhancing mechanism linked to violations of default intuitive inference…
The Memorability of Supernatural Concepts
We evaluate the literature on the memorability of supernatural concepts (e.g., gods, ghosts, souls), itself part of a growing body of work in the emerging cognitive science of religion (Barrett, 2007). Specifically, we focus on Boyer’s (1994a, 2000, 2001) Minimally Counterintuitive ( MCI ) hypothesis according to which supernatural concepts tap a cognitively privileged memory-enhancing mechanism linked to violations of default intuitive inference…
Religion as belief, a realist theory
Van Leeuwen’s Religion as Make-Believe, A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity argues that religious and political beliefs are fundamentally different from mundane, factual beliefs and represent a cognitive attitude more akin to imagining. To ground this difference, Van Leeuwen proposes four principles defining factual beliefs: ‘involuntariness’ mandates that people cannot choose what they believe; ‘no compartmentalization’ says that…
Engaging, authoritative, but also evidential
Coherence and the memorability of supernatural concepts
A prominent theory in the cognitive science of religion proposes that supernatural concepts share a common structure that contributes to their cultural success. While concepts of all kinds - i.e., natural and supernatural - are theorized to rely on inferences drawn from intuitive ontological categories, supernatural concepts also violate these ontological categories. A few violations of intuitive ontologies promote memorability, however, too many…
Cognition (3 works) · Counterintuitive (2 works) · Epistemology (2 works) · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation (2 works) · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs (2 works) · Philosophy (2 works) · Psychology (2 works) · Aesthetics (1 works) · Argument (complex analysis (1 works) · Belief system (1 works)