Cris
MY BLOGS
-
Genealogy of Religion
http://genealogyreligion.net/
Exploring the Origins, History, and Future of Religion
LATEST ARTICLES ( 560 )
-
Cognitive Maps & Brain Territories
While considering the current status of cognitive science, which can also be considered an inquiry into the state of an emerging art, two recent articles addres... Read more
Posted on 23 November 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Genealogizing Cognitive Science
While preparing to write a chapter on the cognitive science of religion, I thought it would be a good idea to investigate the foundations of cognitive science... Read more
Posted on 21 November 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Ancestral Trees & Cultural Forests
Note: This is a guest post by John Balch, a graduate student in the Religion Department at the University of Florida and one of my former students. Read more
Posted on 18 November 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Insects Shall Inherit the Earth
A massive new study in Science has resolved the timing and pattern of insect evolution. Insects originated ~479 million years ago (mya), some began flying ~406... Read more
Posted on 08 November 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Gutting on God
Over the past ten months the New York Times philosophy blog, “The Stone,” hosted an interview series on religion. It was conducted by Notre Dame philosophy... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Myrmecology & Theology
When the world’s leading myrmecologist writes about ants, evolution, and ecology, it’s fine indeed. But when E.O. Wilson opines on matters beyond his expansive... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Shrouded History
Did we really need another 8,400 words devoted to the Shroud of Turin? Those who wish to see in the shroud scientific evidence of “supernatural imprinting”... Read more
Posted on 26 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Stanner on Aboriginal Religion
Between 1959 and 1963, Australian anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner published a classic six-part series of articles on Aboriginal religion. Read more
Posted on 24 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Evolving Methods
Evolutionary psychologists commonly assert that some trait or propensity identified in lab studies is universal or pan-human and this means the trait or... Read more
Posted on 21 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Magically Speaking
In this Aeon article about “legendary comics author Alan Moore” (whose legend and existence had escaped my notice until now), Moore explains his decision to... Read more
Posted on 18 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Dishonor Thy Father
From the metaphorical standpoint of selfish genes and their male human vessels, the worst possible fitness outcome is to invest in another man’s child while... Read more
Posted on 16 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Whitehouse on ERS
It’s not often that I read an article or interview about the evolution of “religion” that does not provoke some dissent — an objecting inner voice saying “that’... Read more
Posted on 14 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Animist Hunting Technology
While reading a recent book announcement from the MIT Press, I was reminded of Robin Ridington’s compelling argument that animism, or animist knowledge, can... Read more
Posted on 10 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Ungodly Science: Dawkins
Since we are on the subject of John Gray, let’s look at his most recent review: a withering attack on arch-atheist Richard Dawkins. Read more
Posted on 08 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Secular Prophets
As lead book reviewer for the New Statesman, John Gray has a superb platform for elucidating, in wonderfully acidic prose, the kludgish philosophy of John Gray. Read more
Posted on 05 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Barash, Biology & Balderdash
I feel sorry for David Barash’s undergraduate students at the University of Washington. Why? Because when Barash teaches his animal behavior class, which is... Read more
Posted on 03 October 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Polarities of Progress
While researching my next post in the series on the idea of “progress,” I came across two articles sitting at opposite poles of the progressive spectrum. Read more
Posted on 27 September 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Data Meets Durkheim
Ever since Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912), most scholars have assumed the collective rituals function to arouse emotions and bond... Read more
Posted on 24 September 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Survival of the Supernaturalist
Since it seems to be the season for critiquing evolutionary psychology, some may be interested in a recent Nation article, “Survival of the Sexiest: How... Read more
Posted on 18 September 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY -
Crying Babies & Religion
You know things are going bad for evolutionary psychology when the field, and its methods, have become the subject of satire performed by scientists. The... Read more
Posted on 17 September 2014 DEBATE, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY