Cris
MY BLOGS
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Genealogy of Religion
http://genealogyreligion.net/
Exploring the Origins, History, and Future of Religion
LATEST ARTICLES ( 560 )
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Meditations on Mortality
At the start of my anthropology of religion course, I ask students to “explain” religion: Why do you think it exists? What do you think it does? Read more
Posted on 01 March 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Christianity Hot & Cold
Over at the New Yorker, Adam Gopnik has weighed in with his review of Elaine Pagels’ newest book, Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of... Read more
Posted on 28 February 2012 HISTORY, RELIGION -
The Magic of Religion
There is a great deal of magic in religion. So much in fact that most anthropologists have rejected the idea that there is any principled distinction between... Read more
Posted on 25 February 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Group Level Selection Saudi Style
It is fashionable these days to argue that “religion” is an adaptation that evolved through group level selection. There are mathematical models which show... Read more
Posted on 21 February 2012 DEBATE, RELIGION -
Beautiful Objectivity
Old Aristotleian habits die hard and the human penchant for bifurcating or othering is alive and well. In this handy primer on the distinctions between... Read more
Posted on 20 February 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Vanquishing the Soul: Gall & Phrenology
Thinking is a strange thing. So strange, in fact, that most people think that whatever is doing the thinking must have a life of its own. Read more
Posted on 17 February 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY -
Chemical Ghosts in the Machine
If we think deeply about evolution, we eventually will ask questions not about the origin of species but about the origin of life. For some theistic... Read more
Posted on 12 February 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
All Mixed Up: Julian Jaynes
In 1976, the polymathic Princeton psychologist Julian Jaynes published The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Read more
Posted on 08 February 2012 DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Bible “Ignorance” as Interpretation
As a native Nebraskan, I was a bit surprised to see this headline in the Lincoln newspaper: “Minister’s Lecture to Examine How Ignorance of Scripture Hurts... Read more
Posted on 05 February 2012 DEBATE, RELIGION -
Misfires of Moral Psychology
Over the past decade there has been a sea change in the way we assess moral reasoning, judgment, and behavior. The old view, developed and championed largely... Read more
Posted on 01 February 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Disrupting & Inventing “Religion”
When I teach my anthropology of religion course the first order of business is to define and disrupt “religion” as a category. I begin by having students... Read more
Posted on 27 January 2012 CULTURE, DEBATE, RELIGION -
Crazyism & Common Sense
If you haven’t been following 3:AM’s interview series, you’re missing out. The Brian Leiter interview was one of the most cogent and compelling assessments of... Read more
Posted on 23 January 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Philosophers Do Cosmology (Again)
Ever since humans began thinking and talking about the world, they have had ideas about its nature and within some larger structure which we now call the... Read more
Posted on 20 January 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Saturday Snippets
Terry Eagleton has taken dead-eye aim at Alain de Botton’s oxymoronic new book, Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believers Guide to the Uses of Religion. Read more
Posted on 14 January 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Altruistic Infants Aren’t Little Devils
Someone forgot to tell a group of 15-month-old infants they are flawed and that without proper (religious or moral) instruction, they will be unfair and selfish. Read more
Posted on 04 January 2012 DEBATE, FAMILY -
Spirit-Poltergeist Television
Over the past five years I’ve spent far too much time watching an endless series of television programs about ghost hunting and spirit hauntings. They all... Read more
Posted on 01 January 2012 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Structure & Function of Creation Myths
Creation myths do psychological and cultural work. Because all known societies have creation myths, the number and variety is staggering. Read more
Posted on 30 December 2011 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Don’t Seek and You Shall Find
Some weeks ago Farhad Manjoo penned a techno-robotic piece arguing that independent bookstores are superfluous and should just die. It was one of the coldest an... Read more
Posted on 27 December 2011 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Adaptive Optimization: Code for Design
For this holidays I’d like to share this with my theist friends who see hominin evolution progressively unfolding as one adaptation after another, all... Read more
Posted on 22 December 2011 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION -
Creation Myths: Not Just Stories
Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about creation myths. By calling them “myths” it allows us to overlook, dismiss, or ignore them. This is a mistake. W... Read more
Posted on 20 December 2011 BIOLOGY, CULTURE, DEBATE, HISTORY, RELIGION