Religious discourse as social coordination of goals
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Transcript of Religious discourse as social coordination of goals
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Religious discourseas social coordinationof goals
Konrad Talmont-KaminskiMarie Curie-Sklodowska U., Poland
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Line of argument
Coordination of actions and goalsSuperempirical beliefsNon-cognitive function of religion
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Coordination of actions
Necessary for cooperation
Discourse must partly reflect reality
Assumes goals coordinated
Hunting example
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Coordination of goals
Necessary for cooperation
Short term vs long term goals
Coordination of long term needed
Discourse need not reflect reality
Non-cognitive function
Hunting example again
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Basic problem for explaining cooperation
Free rider problem
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Long term coordination
Requires solution to free rider problem
Discourse need not reflect reality
Evidence might destabilise beliefs
Thereby undermining functionality
Need to protect discourse against counter evidence
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Superempirical
Content
MethodologicalContext
SocialContext
Superempirical
>Unfalsifiable
“Invisible”“Dangerous”“Far away”
SacredAvailable methodsAvailable tools
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Religious discourse
Well protected against potential counterevidence
Popularity of claims can not depend upon truth
It depends on functionality plus cognitive factors
Dual inheritance theory (Atran, Henrich, Norenzayan)
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Moral Gods
Gods who act to support human morality
Superempirical consequences of failure to cooperate
Changed perception of costs/benefits
Greater cooperation results
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Discourse & function
Religious discourse need not reflect reality
BUT…
Religious claims must be believed to motivate cooperation
Non-cognitive function presumes cognitive function
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Conclusions
Coordination of goals does not require realistic discourseNon-cognitive function requires protection from counterevidenceNon-cognitive function presumes cognitive function
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Thank you
Konrad Talmont-KaminskiIn a Mirror, Darkly: How the Supernatural Reflects Rationality (forthcoming)