Mind, Morality and Magic: Cognitive Science Approaches in Biblical Studies (Bibleworld)

Czachesz, Istvan; Uro, Risto

ISBN 10: 1844657337 / ISBN 13: 9781844657339

Published by Routledge, 2013

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9781844657339

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mind, Morality and Magic: Cognitive Science Approaches in Biblical Studies (Bibleworld)
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1844657337
• ISBN 13: 9781844657339
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The cognitive science of religion that has emerged over the last twenty years is a multidisciplinary field that often challenges established theories in anthropology and comparative religion. This new approach raises many questions for biblical studies as well. What are the cross-cultural cognitive mechanisms which explain the transmission of biblical texts? How did the local and particular cultural traditions of ancient Israel and early Christianity develop? What does the embodied and socially embedded nature of the human mind imply for the exegesis of biblical texts? "Mind, Morality and Magic" draws on a range of approaches to the study of the human mind - including memory studies, computer modeling, cognitive theories of ritual, social cognition, evolutionary psychology, biology of emotions, and research on religious experience. The volume explores how cognitive approaches to religion can shed light on classical concerns in biblical scholarship - such as the transmission of traditions, ritual and magic, and ethics - as well as uncover new questions and offer new methodologies.

About the Author

Istvan Czachesz is Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Tromsų, Norway. Risto Uro is University Lecturer of New Testament Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland.