Philosophical Foundations of the Cognitive Science of Religion - (Scientific Studies of Religion: Inquiry and Explanation) by Robert N McCauley

Book Synopsis

Robert N. McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson are considered the founders of the field of the cognitive science of religion. Since its inception over twenty years ago, the cognitive science of religion has raised questions about the philosophical foundations and implications of such a scientific approach. This volume from McCauley, including chapters co-authored by Lawson, is the first book-length project to focus on such questions, resulting in a compelling volume that addresses fundamental questions that any scholar of religion should ask.

The essays collected in this volume are those that initially defined this scientific field for the study of religion. These essays deal with issues of methodology, reductionism, resistance to the scientific study of religion, and other criticisms that have been lodged against the cognitive science of religion. The new final chapter sees McCauley reflect on developments in this field since its founding.

Tackling these debates head on and in one place for the first time, this volume belongs on the shelf of every researcher interested in this now established approach to the study of religion within a range of disciplines, including religious studies, philosophy, anthropology and the psychology of religion.

Review Quotes

From the nestors of the cognitive science of religion (CSR), their long-awaited methodological and philosophical reflections on the foundations of CSR. They represent and embody the admirable multidisciplinary competence so necessary in analyzing religion. In the face of disciplinary snubs from conservative circles, McCauley and Lawson have forged their own path with zeal, good humor and philosophical savvy. This collection of essays is fitting witness to their visions of a new science.
Armin W. Geertz, Professor of the History of Religions, Aarhus University, Denmark

This collection of influential essays in the cognitive science of religion builds a compelling case for explanatory pluralism, advocating science (to redress an imbalance in religious studies) but not scientism, methodological eclecticism not exclusivism, and (at times) reductionism but not eliminativism. McCauley writes with characteristic clarity, pace, balance, and passion. This book should be obligatory reading not only for religion scholars but for everyone in the humanities and social sciences.
Harvey Whitehouse, Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK

About the Author

Robert N. McCauley is William Rand Kenan Jr. University Professor of Philosophy, as well as Associated Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Anthropology, in the Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture, at Emory University, USA.

E. Thomas Lawson is Honorary Professor and Research Scientist at the Institute of Cognition and Culture at the School of History and Anthropology, Queen's University-Belfast, Northern Ireland, as well as Professor Emeritus of the Department for Comparative Religion at Western Michigan University, USA.