Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Science of Religion (ed. Robert Vinten) - Bloomsbury 2023

This book is coming out in the next month or so. I've got a chapter in it (please forgive the self-promotion). The book originated from a pair of conferences in 2020 organized by Robert Vinten having to do with Wittgenstein, naturalism, and CSR, part of the larger project at Nova University Lisbon, "Epistemology of Religious Belief: Wittgenstein, Grammar and the Contemporary World," which was directed by Nuno Venturinha and Sofia Miguens. I learned a lot being a part of the project and look forward to seeing the completed book. I believe there will be another book coming out eventually on Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religious Belief, having to do significantly with hinge epistemology and philosophy of religion. But that will be a post for another day.

Here's a little bit about my chapter: "Wittgenstein, Naturalism and Interpreting Religious Phenomena"

Abstract: In this chapter, I explore in what senses Wittgenstein might be taken to support as well as to oppose naturalist approaches to interpreting religious phenomena. First, I provide a short overview of some passages from Wittgenstein’s writings—especially the “Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough”—relevant to the issue of the naturalness of religious phenomena. Second, I venture some possibilities regarding what naturalism might mean in connection with Wittgenstein. Lastly, I explore the bearing of Wittgenstein’s remarks on religion for the interpretation of religious phenomena. Ultimately, I argue that Wittgenstein’s remarks on religion depict a way of thinking about the naturalness of religious phenomena, and that naturalistic depiction is part of the clarificatory work of philosophy. Wittgenstein reminds himself and his readers that religiosity is not something mysterious, per se; it is a core possibility within human life, one which can anchor meaningful living.

Here's what the publisher's website has to say about the book:

Description

Advancing our understanding of one of the most influential 20th-century philosophers, Robert Vinten brings together an international line up of scholars to consider the relevance of Ludwig Wittgenstein's ideas to the cognitive science of religion. Wittgenstein's claims ranged from the rejection of the idea that psychology is a 'young science' in comparison to physics to challenges to scientistic and intellectualist accounts of religion in the work of past anthropologists.

Chapters explore whether these remarks about psychology and religion undermine the frameworks and practices of cognitive scientists of religion. Employing philosophical tools as well as drawing on case studies, contributions not only illuminate psychological experiments, anthropological observations and neurophysiological research relevant to understanding religious phenomena, they allow cognitive scientists to either heed or clarify their position in relation to Wittgenstein's objections. By developing and responding to his criticisms, Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Science of Religion offers novel perspectives on his philosophy in relation to religion, human nature, and the mind.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Robert Vinten (New University of Lisbon, Portugal)

1. Wittgenstein, Concepts and Human Nature, Roger Trigg (University of Warwick, UK)

2. On Truth, Language and Objectivity, Florian Franken Figueiredo (New University of Lisbon, Portugal)

3. Pascal Boyer's Miscellany of Homunculi: A Wittgensteinian Critique of Religion Explained, Robert Vinten (New University of Lisbon, Portugal)

4. The Brain Perceives/ Infers, Hans Van Eyghen (Tilburg University, The Netherlands)

5. The Imaginary Inner Inside the Cognitive Science of Religion, Christopher Hoyt (Western Carolina University, USA)

6. Cognitive Theories And Wittgenstein: Looking For Convergence Not For Divergence, Olympia Panagiotidou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

7. Wittgenstein, Naturalism, and Interpreting Religious Phenomena, Thomas Carroll (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen)

8. Natural Thoughts and Unnatural Oughts: Lessing, Wittgenstein, and Contemporary CSR, Guy Axtell (Radford University, USA)

9. Normative Cognition in the Cognitive Science of Religion, Mark Addis (London School of Economics, UK)

10. Brains as the Source of Being: Mind/Brain Focus and the Western Model of Mind in Dominant Cognitive Science Discourse, Rita McNamara (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)

11. On Religious Practices as Multiscale Active Inference: Certainties Emerging From Recurrent Interactions Within and Across Individuals and Groups, Inês Hipólito (Humboldt University, Germany) and Casper Hesp (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Existentially Important Issues & Philosophy of Religion II

Christo and Jean-Claude, Diagram for "Surrounded Islands" Project 

for Biscayne Bay, Miami (1983)

I'd like to pick up the thread I left a few months ago. Since I've been teaching Philosophy of Religion again this term, I figured it might be a good idea to pick up this theme on existentially important issues in philosophy of religion. The idea behind this question was that while much philosophy of religion comes from quite different times, insights from the past might be helpful for shedding light on contemporary issues of practical, even existential urgency. 

In class discussions, a wide variety of issues came up. Students' responses clustered around three broad areas: 

1. Philosophy of religion could play a constructive role in addressing the philosophical underpinnings of our emerging environmental crises relating to climate change. Here, I think Martin Hägglund's ideas, and especially his notion of "secular faith," were particularly inspiring for students. A lot of this no doubt has to do with many students holding to some combination of materialism and atheism. A robust social ethic grounded in a sense of what is at stake in our shared world appeals to a good many of my students.

2. Philosophy of religion could help facilitate intercultural communication, especially when it comes to understanding and interpreting traditional beliefs and practices across cultures and historical periods. Importantly, this sensibility had to do with living in pluralistic societies (including but not exclusively China) or with awareness of international business contexts in which students might find themselves someday. One student specifically drew on Simone Weil's work on attention (to God, to neighbors) as a resource for intercultural communication.

3. A good many students also reflected on the dynamics of war and violence in the contemporary world and the constructive role philosophy of religion could play. In particular, students mentioned that philosophy of religion could help with interpreting and applying relevant religious teachings (e.g., "non-violence," "turning the other cheek") and in the contemporary world. Some students also considered how philosophy of religion could play a critical role by countering misuse of religious texts or doctrines in justifying violence or warfare.

A smaller but still significant number of students identified topics relating to gender and identity and the important role philosophy of religion could play in questioning interpretations of sacred texts that have been used to support traditionalist accounts of gender roles.

Especially in contexts where overt identification with religious identities is low, reflecting on the existential importance of philosophy of religion is helpful. Not only does it bridge historical work in global philosophy with our own contemporary world and its problems, but it also may be helpful for generating new insights into (and possible new ways of addressing) difficult problems. I'll be keeping issues like these in mind as I revise the course for the future and as I consider possible future writing projects on existential issues and contemporary philosophy of religion.