normal functioning may better be likened to a workshop equipped with lots of specialized tools for processing particular classes of information. Nothing enters that is not pre-processed in some way: No, our minds are a storehouse of modular processing machines. One thing has become clear: our minds don’t simply register “the world as it is” through our senses and accordingly “map reality” into our heads like a sponge responding to finger pressures to register this or that “reality point”. And this brings us to the work of psychologists and their experiments on people at different stages of development. It’s not only gods and spirits that are some sort of universal.īarrett begins his discussion by how it is that people come to believe anything at all. Other beliefs are also found in common throughout the human experience: people universally believe in other minds they also believe in the constancy of physical laws. It’s not as if the idea of “god” or “spirits” are unique in their ubiquity. His contribution is an exploration of why it is that people around the world, and for ages past, have made appeals to superhuman or supernatural agencies. Thus begins Justin Barrett’s contribution to Religion, Anthropology, and Cognitive Science. But I might submit myself to an initiation that appeals to ancestors, spirits, or gods. If I wish to join a community or society, I might register or pay dues or even undergo an initiation ceremony. I might also pray or conduct a ritual or in some other way try to get some supernatural help. If I want to ensure a good harvest, I might take care in preparing my field, fertilize, use the best seeds possible, weed, and irrigate. xxiii, of Religion, Anthropology, and Cognitive Science. He is currently Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Anthropology and Mind. His book Why Would Anyone Believe in God? (2004) presents a scientific account for the prevalence of religious beliefs. Barrett is an editor of the J ournal of Cognition & Culture and is author of numerous articles and chapters concerning cognitive science of religion. He served on the psychology faculties of Calvin College and the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and as a research fellow of the Institute for Social Research. Barrett earned degrees in psychology from Calvin College (B.A.) and Cornell University (Ph.D).
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