Power, other-worldliness, and the extended mind
Religious Studies September 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1017/s0034412518000549 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the extended mind literature can elucidate religious phenomena normally left outside analytic philosophy of religion, showing how believers' potential relationships to extra-natural power dictate cross-culturally recurring ways of structuring religious praxis, and that this illuminates phenomena from the appeal of magic as a negative category to the role of other-worldliness in major world religions. |
Abstract
Abstract: In this article, I use the extended mind literature to elucidate religious phenomena that are normally left well outside the purview of analytic philosophy of religion. I show that the extended mind literature casts light on how the potential relationships of the ordinary believer to extra-natural power dictate cross-culturally re-occurring ways of structuring religious praxis. This application of the extended mind illuminates a diverse but subtly interconnected set of religious phenomena, from the cross-cultural appeal of magic as a negative category to the role of other-worldliness in the major world religions.
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- In Defense of Extended Functionalism The MIT Press eBooks May 21, 2010
- The metaphysics of the Extended Mind in ontological entanglements1 Oxford University Press eBooks January 6, 2011
- MINDS, INTRINSIC PROPERTIES, AND MADHYAMAKA BUDDHISM Zygon December 3, 2025
- The New Science of the Mind August 13, 2010
- The Mind Possessed October 1, 2007
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