Past Conferences

2nd Annual Conference
Religion, Cognitive Science, and Evolutionary Psychology

August 12-13, 2003
Eastland Park Hotel, Portland

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.

Religion, Terrorism and War

A symposium on "Religion, terrorism and war" will be held on second day of the conference, Member are composed of four conference Keynotes and Presenters: Matther Alper, Scott Atran, Pascall Boyer and Allen MacNeill; Nicholas Humphrey will moderate.

CEU Credits

NEI will provide letters of attendance and description of conference events to attendees to submit to their respective professional organizations for issuing CEU credits.

Conference Presentation Schedule

Tuesday, August 12th

8:00 registration desk

8:00-8:45 Coffee:

8:45-9:00 Plenary Welcome

David Smith, Ph.D., Director and Co-Founder, NEI

Robert Haskell, Ph.D., Associate Director, Co-founder, NEI

Jacque Carter, Ph.D., Dean College of Arts and Sciences

9:00-9:15 Opening Thoughts
Nicholas Humphrey, Ph.D.: Reflections on Why to Approach Religion from Evolutionary and Cognitive Perspectives.
Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science,
London School of Economics and professor of psychology,
Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research, New York.

9:15-10:15 Keynote Opening Religion and The Mental Instincts That Create It.
Pascal Boyer:
Henry Luce Professor of Individual and Collective Memory
Washington University, St. Louis

10:15 -10:30 Break:

10:30-11:15: Natural Selection Is Non-denominational: Why Evolutionary Models of Religion Should Be More Concerned with Behavior than Concepts. (concurrent)
Jesse M. Bering, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of Arkansas

10:30-11:15 : Negation and Doubt in Religious Representations. (concurrent)
Bradley Franks, Ph.D.
Lecturer London School of Economics

11:15-12:00 Religion, Death and Horror Films: An Evolutionary Analysis. (concurrent)
Hank Davis, Ph.D., and Andrea Javor, Ph.D.
Dept. of Psychology
University of Guelph

11:15-12:00 Cognitive Psychology of "Original Sin." (concurrent)
H. John Caulfield, Ph.D.
Distinguished Research Professor
Fisk University

12:00 – 1:30 Lunch: Off Site Independent

1:30-2:30 Keynote The Evolutionary Origins of Spiritual Consciousness.
Matthew Alper:
Independent Scholar
Brooklyn, NY.

2:30 -3:15 Religious Costs as Adaptations Signaling Altruistic Intention. (concurrent)
Joseph A. Bulbulia, Ph.D.
Religious Studies
Victoria University of Wellington

2:30 -3:15 God Talk: Unconscious Schemata of Deity in Verbal Narratives (concurrent)
Robert E. Haskell, Ph.D.
Psychology
University of New England, NEI

3 :15-3:30 Coffee.

3:30-4:15 Problem Solving and Religion in the EEAAn Endorphin Rush? (concurrent)
Christopher di Carlo, Ph.D.
H3; H4; Dept. of Philosophy
University of Guelph

3:30-4:15 Categorizing the Supernatural: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Conceptualization and Belief (concurrent)
Andre w Shtulman, Ph.D.
Dept. of Psychology
H arvard University

4:15-5:30 Reception

6:00-9:00 Special Conference Dinner

Wednesday, August 13th

8:00 Registration desk Rm

8:30-9:00 Coffee Rm

9:00-9:15 Opening

9:15-10:15 Keynote
Scott Atran, Ph.D.: Religion’s Evolutionary Landscape: Counterintuition, Commitment, Compassion, Communion
Charge de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,
CREA-Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France,
and research scientist at the Institute for Social Research.

10:15–10:30 Break

10:30-11:15 Why So People Behave Religiously? (concurrent)
Stephen W. Kercel, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, Dept of Psychology
University of New England and NEI
and
Donald C. Mikulecky, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity
Virginia Commonwealth University

10:30 - 11:15 The Cognitive Neuropsychiatry of Religious Belief .(concurrent)
Ryan McKay, Ph.D.
Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science
Macquarie University

11:15 - 12:00 With or Without Belief: A New Evolutionary Approach to the Definition and Explanation of Religion. (concurrent)
Craig Palmer, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
and
Lyle B. Steadman, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
Arizona State University

11:15 - 12:00 Religion, Evolution and an Immunology of Cultural Systems. (concurrent)
Jespert Sørensen, Ph.D.
Dept. for the Study of Religion
University of Southern Denmark

12: 00- 1:30 Lunch: Off Site/ Independent

1:30 -2:15 The Capacity for Religious Experience Is An Evolutionary Adaptation to Warfare (concurrent)
Allen D. MacNeill, Ph.D.
Biology Learning Strategies Center
Cornell University

1:30 -2:15 Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology. (concurrent)
Michael Winkelman, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
Arizona State University

2:15-3:00 Symposium: Religion, Terrorism, and War. Presentations
Moderator: Nicholas Humphrey
Presenters: Matthew Alper, Scott Atran, Pascal Boyer, Allen D. MacNeill

3:00-3:15 Break

3:15-4:00 Symposium: Continuation Audience Discussion

4:00-4:15 Concluding Plenary Session.
   
       

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