Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Emotions'

There’s Spiritual Power Inside a Woman

December 6th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Emotions

“I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron’s point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out [...]

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Possibilities Paralysis

November 22nd, 2011 · 3 Comments · Emotions

Since Erich Fromm published his classic Escape from Freedom or Fear of Freedom in 1942, the psychological study of freedom — or unfettered choice — has been a rich field of study, even if it does seem to lack a bit by way of data.

Though I haven’t kept up with the literature, this interview with [...]

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“Spirituality” as Evolutionary Byproduct

August 5th, 2011 · 3 Comments · Cognition, Emotions, Evolutionary Byproduct

A friend recently pointed me to Michael Graziano’s article “Is Spirituality a Byproduct of Evolution?” Because it is posted over at Huff or Fluff-Po, I was immediately skeptical.
Anyone who has perused Fluff-Po’s Religion section knows it is filled scientific sounding metaphysics and countless articles by progressive religionists telling us that their non-progressive counterparts have gotten [...]

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Foreign Ideas & Moral Indigestion

June 6th, 2011 · 22 Comments · Cognition, Emotions, Morality, Ritual

Imagine you are dining at a friend’s home. Your host is excited because she has prepared a special dish for you. When dinner is finally served, you are surprised to see a whole egg on your plate and when you open the egg, you are even more surprised to see this:
That’s balut, a dish of [...]

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The Metaphysics of Heavy Metal

April 25th, 2011 · 6 Comments · Emotions, Magic

There are many ways to think and write about heavy metal music, but few have tapped its dark heart better than James Parker. Over at The Atlantic, Parker makes the beautifully haunting (or floridly disturbing) case that metal keeps its listeners sane. And he does so in terms that clearly connect it to something deep, [...]

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The Sins of an Evolutionary Psychologist

April 22nd, 2011 · 5 Comments · Emotions, Evolutionary Adaptation, Methodology

In a recent essay on the cult of David Foster Wallace, Nathan Heller notes that DFW’s mature work deals with the crisis of contemporary pluralism: “how to think intelligently and truthfully about the world when that world is full of intelligent and truthful people who adhere to irreconcilable schools of thought.” While Heller [...]

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The Sins of Evolutionary Psychology

April 20th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Cognition, Emotions, Evolution

In 1902, Rudyard Kipling published his wonderfully imaginative Just So Stories. What child does not thrill to learn “How the Camel Got His Hump” or “How the Leopard Got His Spots“? When I was six years old, my grandmother read “How the Whale Got His Throat” to me and I swallowed it hook, line, and [...]

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Religions as Metaphors

April 13th, 2011 · No Comments · Emotions, History

From time to time I find it salutary to make confessions, even if the acknowledgment brands me as a philistine. One such confession is that I love Ray Bradbury. I was reminded of this while reading an interview he gave to The Paris Review.
After dismissing James Joyce as a writer who lacked ideas and could [...]

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The Magic of Contagion

March 11th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Cognition, Emotions, Evolution, Ritual

What makes people pay large sums of money for apparently mundane objects such as JFK’s golf clubs ($772,500 at auction) and rocking chair ($453,500)? Although a portion of the price is related to investment value, this cannot account for the exorbitant amounts paid for these items. Something else is at work. According to a recent [...]

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Amygdala Tapping Metaphysics

January 4th, 2011 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Cognition, Emotions, Power

Over at The Atlantic, Andrew Bacevich has penned an incisive piece on the American military-industrial complex and the metaphysic required to sustain it.  As is true of the metaphysics that sustain most “world religions,” this one is grounded in fear:
This national-security state derived its raison d’être from — and vigorously promoted a belief in — [...]

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