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The cognitive science of souls: Clarifications and extensions of the evolutionary model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2006

Jesse M. Bering*
Affiliation:
Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom qub.ac.uk/icc http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/InstituteofCognitionCulture/Staff/JesseMBering/
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Abstract:

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The commentaries are a promising sign that a research programme on the cognitive science of souls will continue to move toward empirical and theoretical rigor. Most of the commentators agree that beliefs in personal immortality, in the intelligent design of souls, and in the symbolic meaning of natural events can provide new insight into human social evolution. In this response I clarify and extend the evolutionary model, further emphasizing the adaptiveness of the cognitive system that underlies these beliefs.

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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006