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China as the Radical “Other”: Lessons for the Cognitive Science of Religion

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Religious Cognition in China

Part of the book series: New Approaches to the Scientific Study of Religion ((NASR,volume 2))

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Abstract

This chapter argues against the strong “holist” position that the early Chinese lacked any concept of mind-body dualism, and more broadly against a “neo-Orientalist” trend that portrays Chinese thought as radically different from Western thought. In the first half, it makes the case against strong mind-body holism by drawing upon traditional archeological and textual evidence. In the second, it turns to resources from the sciences, arguing that large-scale quantitative-qualitative analyses of early Chinese texts suggest they embrace a quite vigorous form of mind-body dualism, and further that a huge body of evidence coming out of the cognitive sciences suggests that this is not at all surprising. In this section the role that deep humanistic knowledge can, and should, play in scientific approaches to culture is also explored. The article concludes by suggesting that a mutually-informed, humanities-scientific approach to the human mind is the best way for cognitive science to move forward.

This chapter builds on ideas presented in Slingerland, E. (2013). Body and mind in early China: An integrated humanities-science approach. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 81(1), 6-55. This research was supported by the Canada Research Chairs program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of British Columbia, 607 - 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z2, BC, Canada

    Edward Slingerland

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  1. Edward Slingerland
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Correspondence to Edward Slingerland .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

    Ryan G. Hornbeck

  2. Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

    Justin L. Barrett

  3. Office for Science, Theology, & Religion Initiatives Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA

    Madeleine Kang

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Slingerland, E. (2017). China as the Radical “Other”: Lessons for the Cognitive Science of Religion. In: Hornbeck, R., Barrett, J., Kang, M. (eds) Religious Cognition in China. New Approaches to the Scientific Study of Religion , vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62954-4_4

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