Measuring the strength of belief in the supernatural entities in the Babylonian Talmud. A method based on the Elyonim veTachtonim project
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3867862 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wojciech Kosior (0000-0002-1555-5952, Jagiellonian University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 349-367 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Critical Research on Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2050-3032 • E-ISSN: 2050-3040 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/20503032231199491 |
| OpenAlex | W4386415046 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
This paper offers a technique for assessing the strength of belief in the traditions involving supernatural entities (angels, demons, ghosts, and monsters) present in the Babylonian Talmud. The method is based on the appreciation of the formal features of the text (genre, language, attribution, etc.) in the theoretical and technical framework of the Elyonim veTachtonim project and allows to grade relatively the perceived reality of particular accounts. The analysis of the quantitative data shows that these are the traditions about the demons, which are usually provided in the form of pragmatic recommendations transmitted in Aramaic and featuring the Babylonian sages. This allows us to infer that the demons appeared to the final redactors (i.e., the Stammaim) as the most real among the supernatural entities: they were presented as posing real danger and as demanding adequate means of action
Action (physics · Art · Attribution · Authorship attribution · Epistemology · Judaism · Linguistics · Literature · Rank (graph theory · Talmud · Theology · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Computer Science · History · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash
Demons and the Making of the Monk
Beliefs, Degrees of Belief, and the Lockean Thesis
Shared Worlds
Did the Rabbis Believe in Agreus Pan? Rabbinic Relationships with Roman Power, Culture, and Religion in Genesis Rabbah 63
Degrees of belief in god
Counterintuitiveness in Folktales
Why humans value sensational news
Types and Forms in Ancient Jewish Literature
Attribution and Authorship in the Babylonian Talmud
Art, as Device
The Reality of Fiction
The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud
Supernatural as a Western Category
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |