Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine
Concepts of gods, like any other concepts, are informed and constrained by cross-cultural regularities of the human mind-brain. Specifically, divine beings that are represented as intentional agents are subject to the cognitive intuitions that govern all intentional agents. These intuitions may incl...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Blackwell Publishing
1998
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| _version_ | 1797081524957347840 |
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| author | Barrett, J |
| author2 | Society for the Scientific Study of Religion |
| author_facet | Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Barrett, J |
| author_sort | Barrett, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Concepts of gods, like any other concepts, are informed and constrained by cross-cultural regularities of the human mind-brain. Specifically, divine beings that are represented as intentional agents are subject to the cognitive intuitions that govern all intentional agents. These intuitions may include psychological and physical attributes not endorsed by a given theological tradition. Experimental evidence is presented supporting the presence of these cognitive constraints and a resulting divergence between stated theological beliefs and implicit concepts. Hindu residents of northern India completed questionnaires regarding attributes of Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, or Krishna and also participated in a narrative comprehension task. Results revealed striking differences in how the gods were conceived in the two contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:15:33Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:8e877c46-4d1c-46cb-9103-ab0093128ba7 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:15:33Z |
| publishDate | 1998 |
| publisher | Blackwell Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:8e877c46-4d1c-46cb-9103-ab0093128ba72022-03-26T22:58:19ZCognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divineJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:8e877c46-4d1c-46cb-9103-ab0093128ba7PsychologyTheology and ReligionAnthropologyEnglishOxford University Research Archive - ValetBlackwell Publishing1998Barrett, JSociety for the Scientific Study of ReligionConcepts of gods, like any other concepts, are informed and constrained by cross-cultural regularities of the human mind-brain. Specifically, divine beings that are represented as intentional agents are subject to the cognitive intuitions that govern all intentional agents. These intuitions may include psychological and physical attributes not endorsed by a given theological tradition. Experimental evidence is presented supporting the presence of these cognitive constraints and a resulting divergence between stated theological beliefs and implicit concepts. Hindu residents of northern India completed questionnaires regarding attributes of Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, or Krishna and also participated in a narrative comprehension task. Results revealed striking differences in how the gods were conceived in the two contexts. |
| spellingShingle | Psychology Theology and Religion Anthropology Barrett, J Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine |
| title | Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine |
| title_full | Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine |
| title_fullStr | Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine |
| title_short | Cognitive constraints on the Hindu concepts of the divine |
| title_sort | cognitive constraints on the hindu concepts of the divine |
| topic | Psychology Theology and Religion Anthropology |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT barrettj cognitiveconstraintsonthehinduconceptsofthedivine |