New item in the Archive for Religion and Cognition:


Click on: http://www.csr-arc.com//view.php?arc=19

Author(s): Czachesz, István
Title: Magic and Mind: Toward a New Cognitive Theory of Magic, With Special
Attention to the Canonical and Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
Category: pre-print
Length: 29
Keywords: magic; counter-intuitive; superstitious conditioning; variable
reinforcement; Bernoulli game

Abstract: This study establishes a new cognitive scientific theory of magic and
connect such theorizing with the evaluation of instances of magical practice in
the canonical and apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. The first part of the article
addresses the hitherto neglected difference and inter-action between magical
competence and magical performance. The second part deals with explanatory
mechanisms that underlie magical performance. In third part, I suggest that
magical manipulations arise from operant conditioning. The final part summarises
my new theory of magic.

For further questions concerning ARC, please feel free to contact us.

http://www.csr-arc.com/