Mathew Gough | University of Chester (original) (raw)
I am a postgraduate student who has recently completed a M. A. in Religious Studies (Merit) at the University of Chester. My research interests are Ritual Studies and Thanatology
Supervisors: Fabrizio Ferrari
Address: Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom
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A critical analysis of the naturalist approach in the Cognitive Science of Religion: A re-reading of the Phenomenology of Religion
The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in th... more The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR, hereafter). This reductionist approach has implications for the methodologies religious anthropologists and ethnographers use when collecting observational data. Furthermore, the CSR is not a part of a research experiment where scholars from a range of academic disciplines provide independent and often conflicting theses regarding the origin and persistence of religious belief. This viewpoint contends that the persistence of religion is due to evolutionary psychological factors. As a consequence there are recurring patterns within cultures where the notions of deities are constructed. The anthropologist Pascal Boyer argues that religious adherents are cognitively predisposed to assign human attributes to superhuman entities. This enables individuals to easily remember philosophical concepts regarding how the divine is understood in religious systems....
The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in th... more The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR, hereafter). This reductionist approach has implications for the methodologies religious anthropologists and ethnographers use when collecting observational data. This viewpoint contends that the persistence of religion is due to evolutionary psychological factors. Notwithstanding, there have been critics from the Religious Studies discipline who pose important questions concerning the CSR’s reductionist approach. This dilemma has generated important questions whether there are epistemological components in religious practice which challenges the CSR’s approach. For example, Heidegger’s existential phenomenology can be seen in the existential encounter when considering death. When an individual considers their own mortality a set of epistemological properties are generated that challenges the normative function of being. Through this encounter, oblivion is encountered by individuals who begin to exist outside of the fabric of culture. Subsequently, their onto – theology is destroyed when a person encounters death. Therefore, notions of the divine are engaged with which are designed to bring individuals back into the world. This thesis contends that existential phenomena such as, death are significant in how individuals operate within social structures. Therefore, while the CSR's materialist approach provides an important perspective regarding the origin of religious rituals, there are phenomenological limitations to such an eliminative reductionist approach. The landmark works of de Martino and Heidegger demonstrate that existentialism is a significant aspect to the cognitive construct of the world. It is advisable for scholars within the natural sciences who subscribe to a physicalist perspective to consider phenomenological insights into how individuals approach death by engaging in social actions that signify not only the end of their life but also the end of their world.
A critical analysis of the naturalist approach in the Cognitive Science of Religion: A re-reading of the Phenomenology of Religion
The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in th... more The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR, hereafter). This reductionist approach has implications for the methodologies religious anthropologists and ethnographers use when collecting observational data. Furthermore, the CSR is not a part of a research experiment where scholars from a range of academic disciplines provide independent and often conflicting theses regarding the origin and persistence of religious belief. This viewpoint contends that the persistence of religion is due to evolutionary psychological factors. As a consequence there are recurring patterns within cultures where the notions of deities are constructed. The anthropologist Pascal Boyer argues that religious adherents are cognitively predisposed to assign human attributes to superhuman entities. This enables individuals to easily remember philosophical concepts regarding how the divine is understood in religious systems....
The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in th... more The dissertation will analyse the claims of the naturalist position which has been employed in the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR, hereafter). This reductionist approach has implications for the methodologies religious anthropologists and ethnographers use when collecting observational data. This viewpoint contends that the persistence of religion is due to evolutionary psychological factors. Notwithstanding, there have been critics from the Religious Studies discipline who pose important questions concerning the CSR’s reductionist approach. This dilemma has generated important questions whether there are epistemological components in religious practice which challenges the CSR’s approach. For example, Heidegger’s existential phenomenology can be seen in the existential encounter when considering death. When an individual considers their own mortality a set of epistemological properties are generated that challenges the normative function of being. Through this encounter, oblivion is encountered by individuals who begin to exist outside of the fabric of culture. Subsequently, their onto – theology is destroyed when a person encounters death. Therefore, notions of the divine are engaged with which are designed to bring individuals back into the world. This thesis contends that existential phenomena such as, death are significant in how individuals operate within social structures. Therefore, while the CSR's materialist approach provides an important perspective regarding the origin of religious rituals, there are phenomenological limitations to such an eliminative reductionist approach. The landmark works of de Martino and Heidegger demonstrate that existentialism is a significant aspect to the cognitive construct of the world. It is advisable for scholars within the natural sciences who subscribe to a physicalist perspective to consider phenomenological insights into how individuals approach death by engaging in social actions that signify not only the end of their life but also the end of their world.