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Tag: "cognitive"

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Pascal Boyer continues his search for natural sources of religious belief

I have previously posted on the work of psychologist and anthropologist Pascal Boyer. Throughout his writings, Boyer has repeatedly warned us that we shouldn’t settle for simplistic explanations for religious belief. We shouldn’t be looking, for sample, for a “gene for religious thinking.”
In the October 23, 2008 addition of Nature (available online only to subscribers), [...]

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John McCain: The dazed and confused candidate for President

The TPM video that appears below introduces John McCain, admittedly not at his public-speaking best. The main question is not whether McCain misspeaks, however. Many highly competent people lack polished public speaking skills. Even though they often stumble while speaking, though, highly competent people ultimately display their high degree of competence. [...]

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Why conservatives and liberals talk past each other on moral issues.

I’ve studied moral philosophy for many years, mostly in frustration.  Though many philosophical theories of morality have offered tantalizing glimmers, they ultimately fail to account for the “moral” decisions people make in the real world.  Traditional philosophical accounts of morality have appeared especially feeble in light of the ongoing and volatile American culture wars.  For [...]