NATURALIZACJA ABSOLUTU. ZASTOSOWANIE MECHANIZMÓW EKSPLANACYJNYCh EWOLUCJONIZMU DO BADAŃ NAD RELIGIĄ
Abstract
NATURALIZATION OF THE ABSOLUTE.
The application of evolution’s explanatory mechanism to the study
of religion
The question which has troubled scholars for many decades (or even
centuries) is the origin and function of religion. In this article, the author
tries to sketch an outline of a new and promising paradigm in the
study of religion, i.e. the evolutionary theories of religion. It is widely
held belief that this enterprise should further provide an explanatory
framework for an enormous amount of data about human religiosity.
Such an aim requires giving an overview of the three fundamental Darwinian
theories which pertain to this extremely multifaceted phenomenon.
The sequence in the overview is like this: (a) a historical and conceptual
background, (b) a sociobiological account, (c) a cognitive account,
(d) a memetic account. The paper also comprises a short presentation
of so-called co-evolutionary perspective, which integrates the
above-mentioned outlooks, and some shortcomings of the whole evolutionary
program of the study of religion.