Table Of ContentMAGIC, MIRACLES,
AND RELIGION
COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF
RELIGION SERIES
5t>ril.'s Editors: Harvt'y WhitehouSE'
and Luther H. Martin
The Cognitive 5ci{'Tlce of Religion Series publishes research into thl' cognitive founda
tions of rt>ligious thinking and behavior and their cOOSE'<Juences for social morphology.
The emphasis of the series is on scif.'f'\tific approachl'S to the study of religion within the
framework of the cognitive sciences, includJng experimental, clinical, or laboratory stud
ies, but wurks drawing upon ethnographic, linguistic. archaeological. or historical re
search are welcome, as are critical apprais.lls of research in these ilrt'as. In addition to
providing a forum for prPSenting new empirical evidence and major thl'Oretical innova
tions, the series publishes concise overviews of issues in the field suitable for students
and general readers. This series is published in cooperation with the Institute for Cog
nition and Culture at Queen's University Belfast.
TITLES IN THE SERIES;
Modrs of Religiosity
A CoglliliUl' Tlloory of RI'ligioU5 Tral15",issioll
By Harwy Whitehouse
Magic, Miracles, ami RrliSiOI!
A SelllltiSt'S Perspectit'l'
By IIkka Pyysiiiinen
Wily Would Anyone Be/in'!.' in C()(U
By Justin L. Barrt'tt
Ritual alld Memory
Toward a ComflaralilH' Anthropology of RLligicm
Edited by Harvey Whitehouse and James Laidlaw
Thoori;:illg ReligiOlls Past
ArclIOOOlogy, His/ory, alld Cognitilll!
Edited by Harvey Whitehouse ;lnd Luther H. Martill
How the Bihle Works
AI! Anthropologicul Study of Euongilil'ol Bihlici.'m
"By Brian E. Malley
fORTHCOMING TITLES:
Miud f!lld Rt'ligiolf
Psychological aud CognWlIt FOIwda/ioll;; of Ikligtml
Edited by Harvey Whitehouse and Robert N. McCauley
The EVil/llliau of Rdigiol!
By Harvey Whitehouse
Gcd from Ihe MaC/line
By Williolm Sims Bolinbridge
MAGIC, MIRACLES,
AND RELIGION
A Scientist's Perspective
by Ilkka PyysUiinen
PRE S S
A Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Copyright © 2004 by AltaMira Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Magic, miracles, and religion: a scientist's perspective / edited by Ilkka
Pyysiainen.
p. cm.-(Cognitive science of religion series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-0-7591-0662-8
1. Psychology, Religious. I. Ilkka, Pyysiainen, 1959-II. Series.
BL53.M362 2004
200'.72-dc22
2003028288
Printed in the United States of America
§TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
To Tom Lawson, who has taught me so much
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction; or, How I Said Goodbye to an
Absent-Minded Study of Religion xiii
1 What Is It Like to Be a Believer? 1
2 A Cognitive-Scientific Perspective in the Study
of Religion 28
3 Breaking Boundaries 39
4 Take the Buddha, for Example 53
5 Religion: A Unique World, but in What Sense? 67
6 Explaining Miracles 81
7 A New Theory of Magic 90
8 True Fiction: The Philosophy and Psychology of
Religious Belief 113
9 Rituals: Why Indeed? 135
10 Singers of Tales 147
VII
viii / Contents
11 Holy Book: The Invention of Writing and
Religious Cognition 160
12 Religion, Science, and Ideology 172
13 'God' as Ultimate Reality in Religion and
in Science 187
14 Religious Experience across Cultures 205
15 Do Cultures Exist? 219
Bibliography 232
Index 269
About the Author 277
Acknowledgments
This book is a collection of chapters in which I both outline the
theoretical foundations of a cognitive science of religion and em
ploy this novel perspective to 'deconstruct' a number of basic
concepts in the study of religion, such as 'miracle', 'magic', and
'culture'. The volume is a continuation of my earlier book How
religion works (Pyysiainen 2001b) and of the edited volume Cur
rent approaches in the cognitive science of religion (PyysHiinen and
Anttonen 2002). Some of the chapters are based on papers pub
lished elsewhere, but everything has been completely rewritten
and reorganized. All unnecessary overlap has been deleted and
new references have been added. Many passages have been re
moved completely and new ones have been added. Language
and argumentation has been revised throughout.
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 7 as well as the preface have been written
specifically for this book. Chapter 4 was originally published in
Numen 52(2) (Brill Academic Publishers) with the title "Buddhism,
religion, and the concept of 'god.'" Chapter 5 appeared under the
title "Religion-sui generis but in what sense?" in Michael Pye's
Festschrift titled Unterwegs: Neue Pfade in der Religionswissenschaft
/ In motion: New paths in the study of religions, edited by Ka~a
Triplett, Christoph Kleine, and Monika Schrimpf (Miinchen: Bib
lion, 2004). Chapter 6 is based on the article "Mind and miracles"
published in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 37(3). Chapter 8
was published in Philosophical Psychology 16(1) (Routledge, Taylor
& Francis Group; see www.tandf.co.uk) with the title "True fic
tion: Philosophy and psychology of religious belief." Chapter 9 is
IX
