e-rhizome 2021, 3(1):1-20 | DOI: 10.5507/rh.2021.001

The Deep History of the Scientific Study of Religious Thought and Behaviour

Donald Wiebe
Trinity College, University of Toronto
9 Douglas Ave, Toronto, Ontario, M5M 1G4, Canada
dwiebe@trinity.utoronto.ca

This article provides a brief overview of the literature on transitions in modes of thought in the evolutionary development of our non-human and pre-historic human forebears. I will argue that this evolutionary history can account for the cognitive foundations underlying modern scientific modes of thought-dedicated to achieving 'disinterested' knowledge for its own sake-although not the actual historical emergence of the sciences. Essential to this task is understanding the continuities and discontinuities between human thought and that of our primate ancestors-the transitions in the cognitive capacities required for dealing with the physical environment-and the transformations essential for dealing with the increasing social complexities of our pre-historic human ancestors.

Keywords: Cognitive capacities; Modes of thought; Disinterested knowledge; Reason; Science;

Published: April 1, 2021  Show citation

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Wiebe, D. (2021). The Deep History of the Scientific Study of Religious Thought and Behaviour. e-rhizome, 3(1), 1-20. doi: 10.5507/rh.2021.001
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