Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

HIDD’n HADD in Intelligent Design

HIDD’n HADD in Intelligent Design AbstractThe idea that religious belief is ‘almost inevitable’ is so forcefully argued by Justin Barrett (2004, 2012) that it can warrant justifiable concern (Shook, 2017; Sterelny, 2018) – especially since he claims atheism is an unnatural handicap (2012, p. 203). In this article, I argue that religious belief in Homo sapiens isn’t inevitable – and that Barrett does agree when pushed. I describe the role played by a Hyperactive Agency Detection Device (HADD) in the generation of belief in God as necessary but insufficient in explaining religious culture – I distance myself from some common conceptions of HADD and the view I take of it is unorthodox. I point out that the conclusion to Barrett’s (2004) book, ‘Why Would Anyone Believe in God?’ is a fine example of the very hyperactive agency detection Barrett himself describes, and is therefore highly suspect. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Cognition and Culture Brill

HIDD’n HADD in Intelligent Design

Atkinson, Andrew Ross
Journal of Cognition and Culture , Volume 20 (3-4): 13 – Aug 26, 2020
Download PDF
13 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/brill/hidd-n-hadd-in-intelligent-design-h3v3x0elqU

References (28)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1567-7095
eISSN
1568-5373
DOI
10.1163/15685373-12340086
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractThe idea that religious belief is ‘almost inevitable’ is so forcefully argued by Justin Barrett (2004, 2012) that it can warrant justifiable concern (Shook, 2017; Sterelny, 2018) – especially since he claims atheism is an unnatural handicap (2012, p. 203). In this article, I argue that religious belief in Homo sapiens isn’t inevitable – and that Barrett does agree when pushed. I describe the role played by a Hyperactive Agency Detection Device (HADD) in the generation of belief in God as necessary but insufficient in explaining religious culture – I distance myself from some common conceptions of HADD and the view I take of it is unorthodox. I point out that the conclusion to Barrett’s (2004) book, ‘Why Would Anyone Believe in God?’ is a fine example of the very hyperactive agency detection Barrett himself describes, and is therefore highly suspect.

Journal

Journal of Cognition and Culture – Brill

Published: Aug 26, 2020

There are no references for this article.