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The Extended Mind and Religious Cognition

New paper from the very excellent Joel Krueger. See also Joel’s Empathy and the Extended Mind paper from a few years back along with other papers discussing this topic. One of the primary functions of religious texts — along with the different rituals and forms of worship constructed with them — is, precisely, to take over part of…

Essentials of Mysticism

Evelyn Underhill’s classic freely available along with many others courtesy of the terrific resource that is the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (H/T to the ever eclectic Paul Raymont of Philosophy, lit.) Christian Classics Ethereal LibraryEvelyn UnderhillmysticismReligion

Nozick and Feuerbach on Eating

As improbable a pairing as one can find, Nozick’s essay reminded me of Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity (see extract after Nozick). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robert Nozick "The Holiness of Everyday Life" in The Examined Life (1989, chapter 6, pp. 55-60). EACH AND EVERY portion of reality, the Transcendentalists said, when viewed and experienced properly, stands for and…

The Soul of the World

Roger Scruton’s latest (2014) garnering some warm praise, thoughtful discussion rather than the shrill or snide remarks that Roger (one of the most refined minds around) usually attracts. The Independent Wall Street Journal The FT David McPherson architectureArtCognitionconsciousnessExperiencefaithLiteraturemusicReligionRoger Scrutonscience

What scares the new atheists

Article by John Gray from a few weeks back (and surprisingly in The Guardian). It’s a reassuringly simple equation. In fact there are no reliable connections – whether in logic or history – between atheism, science and liberal values. When organised as a movement and backed by the power of the state, atheist ideologies have…

WHY I AM AN ACCOMMODATIONIST AND PROUD OF IT

Michael Ruse in the latest issue of ZYGON The implication is that those of us who think that science and religion can coexist harmoniously are in some sense selling out. The New Atheists have appeared on the scene,and in a classic example of what Freud called the “narcissism of small differences,” while they may hate…

Grammar Of Assent/Loss and Gain

Newman’s classic An Essay In Aid Of A Grammar Of Assent is unlikely to have been read by mainstream epistemologists — much to their shame. GoA is freely available on Project Gutenberg as is his philosophical novel Loss and Gain: The Sory of a Convert.  EmpiricismEpistemologyepistemology of religious beliefgrammar of assentJohn Henry Newmanloss and gainphilosophical literatureReligion