Religion in Multidisciplinary Perspective: Philosophical, Theological, and Scientific Approaches to Wesley J. Wildman

Description

Religion in Multidisciplinary Perspective provides the first comprehensive treatment of the work of Wesley J. Wildman, one of the most inventive thinkers in the field of religious studies. Scholars with expertise in philosophical, theological, and scientific approaches to the study of religion offer critical and constructive engagements with Wildman's astonishingly creative and integrative oeuvre. The essays address themes that will be of interest to those concerned with the current state of scholarship on religion from a variety of disciplines, including philosophy, theology, ethics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and others. The volume concludes with a response by Wildman. Contents 1 Introduction to the Work of Wesley J. Wildman Notes Part 1. Philosophical Approaches 2 The Model(ing) Philosophy of Wesley Wildman Computational and Apophatic Models: Always Wrong, Sometimes Useful Modeling “God” Modeling “Religion” God, Forsaken … and No Religion Too Notes 3 Wildman’s Reconstruction of Philosophy of Religion Wildman’s Reconstruction of Philosophy of Religion Having Hope for Correction Making Room for Theology Changing the Field and the Academy Notes 4 Wesley Wildman’s Lessons for and from Ethics Wildman’s Method: Multidisciplinary, Comparative, Fallible Inquiry into Big Questions Advantages to the Multidisciplinary Comparative Fallibilist Inquiry Ethics Aids the Multidisciplinary, Comparative, Fallible Method Conclusion Notes 5 Pragmatist Inquiry and the Problem of Value Pragmatist Inquiry Aesthetics and Inquiry Reflections on the Scientific Study of Religion from the Standpoint of Aesthetics Notes Part 2: Theological Approaches 6 Pragmatism and the Future of Philosophical Theology I II III IV V Notes 7 Committing Theology in the Secular University Introduction Three Models of Theology in the Secular Academy Which Theological Tasks Belong in the Secular University? The Criteria for Theology in the Secular Academy An Example of Comparative Religious Philosophy Notes 8 Wesley Wildman’s Theology Theology’s Public Comparative Erudition Hypothesis and Understanding The Backstory of Anthropomorphism God and Ultimacy Apophaticism Religious Symbolism and Philosophy of Religion Notes 9 Wildman’s Effing Symbology Introduction What is Ultimacy? Three Philonian Inconveniences What is Symbolic Meaning? Between Semantics and Pragmatics Effing the Ineffable In Defense of the Analytic Ascetic Notes 10 Nature and Homo religiosus in Wildman’s Science and Religious Anthropology Religious Naturalism and the Nature of Nature Homo Religiosus and the Sacred Conclusion Part 3: Scientific Approaches 11 Relating within Wildman’s Integrative Engagement with Psychology, Spirituality, and Humility Relational Interdisciplinarity Philosophical and Methodological Pluralism Interdisciplinary Realism Multidimensional Humility Relational Spirituality, Humility, and Ultimacy Manifestations Loneliness Intensity Bliss Conclusion Notes 12 Wildman’s Contributions to the Neuroscience of Religious and Spiritual Experiences Introduction Religious Naturalism and RSEs Wildman’s Work on the Neurologic and Phenomenologic Properties of RSEs Conclusion Notes 13 Religious and Spiritual Experiences: An Imagined Dialogue with Wesley Wildman Notes 14 The Man Who Receives Too Many Emails: Exploring the Construction of Wildman’s Institutional Reality My Colleague Riding Shotgun Entering Wildman’s Wild World: The Birth of a Journal International Conference on the Evolution of Religion Publish or Perish Institute for the Bio-Cultural Study of Religion IBCSR Research Review The Grateful Dead School of Business What’s in a Name? Naked Supernatural Beings Religion, Brain & Behavior From IBCSR to CMAC Anthropologist Plays Psychoanalyst Brain-Group Nexus Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes 15 Response to Religion in Multidisciplinary Perspective Note Author Bios Index