RELIGION, COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

2nd Annual Conference of the New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology (NEI) RELIGION, COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY August 12-13, 2003 Eastland Park Hotel, Portland, Maine At least since the great psychologist and philosopher William James, the issue of religious experience has been the subject of scientific investigation. The conference will apply empirical and theoretical findings from cognitive science and evolutionary psychology, including neuroscience, philosophy, and anthropology to explore the nature of religion and the religious experience from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and methodologies. Conference Presentations: Opening remarks Nicholas Humphrey, Ph.D. Religion and The Mental Instincts That Create It Pascal Boyer, Ph.D. Religion's Evolutionary Landscape: Counterintuition, Commitment, Compassion, Communion Scott Atran, Ph.D. The evolutionary origins of spiritual consciousness Matthew Apler Natural selection is non-denominational: why evolutionary models of religion should be more concerned with behavior than concepts Jesse M. Bering, Ph.D. Religious costs as adaptations signalling altruistic intention. Joseph A. Bulbulia, Ph.D. Cognitive psychology of 'original sin' H. John Caulfield, Ph.D. Religion, death and horror films: an evolutionary analysis Hank Davis, Ph.D and Andrea Javor, Ph.D.* Problem solving and religion in the EEA: an endorphin rush? Christopher di Carlo, Ph.D. Negation and doubt in religious representations Bradley Franks, Ph.D. * God talk: abstract schemata of deity in verbal narratives Robert E. Haskell, Ph.D. Why do people behave religiously? Stephen W. Kercel, Ph.D. and Donald C. Mikulecky, Ph.D. The capacity for religious experience is an evolutionary adaptation to warfare Allen D. MacNeill, Ph.D. The cognitive neuropsychiatry of religious belief Ryan McKay, Ph.D. With or without belief: a new evolutionary approach to the definition and explanation of religion. Craig Palmer, Ph.D.and Lyle B. Steadman, Ph.D. Categorizing the supernatural: an investigation of the relationship between conceptualization and belief Andre W. Shtulman, Ph.D. Religion, evolution and an immunology of cultural systems Jespert Sørensen, Ph.D. To register for the conference or to obtain further information visit our web page at www.une.edu/nei and click on the hyperlink for international conferences.