Cognitive Science and Religious Belief
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4079882 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Graham Wood (0000-0002-0307-9012, University of Tasmania, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 734-745 |
| Publication date | 2011-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy Compass (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1747-9991 • E-ISSN: 1747-9991 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2011.00434.x |
| OpenAlex | W1932808108 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 32 |
The cognitive science of religion draws on insights from evolutionary psychology, and offers explanations of religious belief based on natural cognitive processes. This article examines a number of competing explanations of religious belief by considering it as a solution to the challenge of cooperation. The challenge of stopping individuals cheating within a cooperative group has been a problem throughout humanity's evolutionary history. Empirical evidence drawn from fields such as anthropology and psychology suggests that religious beliefs are part of an evolved cognitive system that motivates individuals to cooperate with other members of their group. Three possible evolutionary accounts, the memetic, by-product, and adaptation accounts, are considered as evolved solutions to the challenge of cooperation
Cheating · Cognition · Cognitive science of religion · Darwinism · Empirical evidence · Epistemology · Evolutionary psychology · Humanity · Sociology · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology
The Believing Primate
Faces in the Clouds
Human Evolutionary Psychology
Mindblindness
Sex and Death
An Experimental Study of Apparent Behavior
Principles of Object Perception
Cognitive templates for religious concepts
The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality
Folk biology and the anthropology of science
Darwin's Cathedral
In Gods We Trust
A Critical Review of Philosophical Work on the Units of Selection Problem
The Good of Wrath
The Natural Emergence of Reasoning About the Afterlife as a Developmental Regularity
Religion and Intragroup Cooperation
Cooperation and Commune Longevity
Religion is natural
"Are Children "Intuitive Theists
Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology
God's punishment and public goods
Anthropomorphism or Preparedness? Exploring Children's God Concepts
Adaptation, evolution, and religion
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2015 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |