The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2020
Within the cognitive science of religion, some scholars hypothesize (1) that minimally counterint... more Within the cognitive science of religion, some scholars hypothesize (1) that minimally counterintuitive (MCI) concepts enjoy a transmission advantage over both intuitive and highly counterintuitive concepts, (2) that religions concern counterintuitive agents, objects, or events, and (3) that the transmission advantage of MCI concepts makes them more likely to be found in the world's religions than other kinds of concepts. We hypothesized that the memorability of many MCI supernatural concepts was due in large part to other characteristics they possess, such as their frequent and salient association with moral concerns and the alleviation of existential anxieties, and that without such characteristics they would fail to be memorable. We report the results of three experiments designed to test the relative contributions of minimal counterintuitiveness, moral valence, and existential anxiety to the memorability of supernatural ideas. We observed no main effects for minimal counterintuitiveness but did observe main effects for both moral valence and existential anxiety. We also found that these effects did not seem to stem from the greater visualizability of morally valenced concepts or concepts that concerned existential anxieties. These findings challenge important claims made by leading researchers regarding MCI concepts within the cognitive science of religion.
The author argues for two senses of the word ‘possibility’ in order to explain modal illusions, o... more The author argues for two senses of the word ‘possibility’ in order to explain modal illusions, or false beliefs about what is possible. While it is metaphysically impossible that there could be hydrogen-less water, it might strike some people as possible. This is because it is epistemically possible: we cannot know a priori that water is not composed of something other than hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike other accounts in the literature, the author argues that the person who makes this mistake has a false belief about water that is not due to an intuition about some substance like water. This account can be extended to treat the illusion of mind-body dualism.
... ProQuest, Modal illusions: Making sense of the necessary a posteriori. by Duffy, Leigh, Ph.D.... more ... ProQuest, Modal illusions: Making sense of the necessary a posteriori. by Duffy, Leigh, Ph.D., STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO, 2009, 175 pages; 3372039. Abstract: ... The main examples I discuss first appeared in Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity. ...
In this paper, I address the seeming tension found in The Bhagavad Gita in our duties as describe... more In this paper, I address the seeming tension found in The Bhagavad Gita in our duties as described in the practice of Karma yoga. The path of Karma yoga involves renunciation and yet we also have an obligation to act righteously. How are we to simultaneously choose a path of duty and let go of what our actions along that path produce? I will argue that the seeming tension is a result of a misunderstanding of renunciation or non-attachment as well as an incomplete view of the dualistic philosophy of yoga theory. I describe the two main paths of yoga that are emphasized in The Bhagavad Gita, Jnana yoga or the path of knowledge and Karma yoga or the path of action, and argue that it is necessary to understand Karma yoga in light of Jnana yoga and to apply Jnana yoga so that it’s not an abstract school of thought, but a philosophy that can be applied to best live our lives.
The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2020
Within the cognitive science of religion, some scholars hypothesize (1) that minimally counterint... more Within the cognitive science of religion, some scholars hypothesize (1) that minimally counterintuitive (MCI) concepts enjoy a transmission advantage over both intuitive and highly counterintuitive concepts, (2) that religions concern counterintuitive agents, objects, or events, and (3) that the transmission advantage of MCI concepts makes them more likely to be found in the world's religions than other kinds of concepts. We hypothesized that the memorability of many MCI supernatural concepts was due in large part to other characteristics they possess, such as their frequent and salient association with moral concerns and the alleviation of existential anxieties, and that without such characteristics they would fail to be memorable. We report the results of three experiments designed to test the relative contributions of minimal counterintuitiveness, moral valence, and existential anxiety to the memorability of supernatural ideas. We observed no main effects for minimal counterintuitiveness but did observe main effects for both moral valence and existential anxiety. We also found that these effects did not seem to stem from the greater visualizability of morally valenced concepts or concepts that concerned existential anxieties. These findings challenge important claims made by leading researchers regarding MCI concepts within the cognitive science of religion.
The author argues for two senses of the word ‘possibility’ in order to explain modal illusions, o... more The author argues for two senses of the word ‘possibility’ in order to explain modal illusions, or false beliefs about what is possible. While it is metaphysically impossible that there could be hydrogen-less water, it might strike some people as possible. This is because it is epistemically possible: we cannot know a priori that water is not composed of something other than hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike other accounts in the literature, the author argues that the person who makes this mistake has a false belief about water that is not due to an intuition about some substance like water. This account can be extended to treat the illusion of mind-body dualism.
... ProQuest, Modal illusions: Making sense of the necessary a posteriori. by Duffy, Leigh, Ph.D.... more ... ProQuest, Modal illusions: Making sense of the necessary a posteriori. by Duffy, Leigh, Ph.D., STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO, 2009, 175 pages; 3372039. Abstract: ... The main examples I discuss first appeared in Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity. ...
In this paper, I address the seeming tension found in The Bhagavad Gita in our duties as describe... more In this paper, I address the seeming tension found in The Bhagavad Gita in our duties as described in the practice of Karma yoga. The path of Karma yoga involves renunciation and yet we also have an obligation to act righteously. How are we to simultaneously choose a path of duty and let go of what our actions along that path produce? I will argue that the seeming tension is a result of a misunderstanding of renunciation or non-attachment as well as an incomplete view of the dualistic philosophy of yoga theory. I describe the two main paths of yoga that are emphasized in The Bhagavad Gita, Jnana yoga or the path of knowledge and Karma yoga or the path of action, and argue that it is necessary to understand Karma yoga in light of Jnana yoga and to apply Jnana yoga so that it’s not an abstract school of thought, but a philosophy that can be applied to best live our lives.
Uploads
Papers by Leigh Duffy