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15 - Cognitive Modelling of Spiritual Practices

from Part III - Religious Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2024

By
Fraser Watts
Edited by
Beth Singler  and
Fraser Watts
Beth Singler
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Fraser Watts
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

One of the ways in which artificial intelligence can be a useful tool in the scientific study of religion is in developing a computational model of how the human mind is deployed in spiritual practices. It is a helpful first step to develop a precise cognitive model using a well-specified cognitive architecture. So far, the most promising architecture for this purpose is the Interacting Cognitive Subsystems of Philip Barnard, which distinguishes between two modes of central cognition: intuitive and conceptual. Cognitive modelling of practices such as mindfulness and the Jesus Prayer involves a shift in central cognition from the latter to the former, though that is achieved in slightly different ways in different spiritual practices. The strategy here is to develop modelling at a purely cognitive level before attempting full computational implementation. There are also neuropsychological models of spiritual practices which could be developed into computational models.

Keywords

computationalmodellingspiritualpracticesmindfulnessprayerInteracting Cognitive Subsystemsneuropsychological
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Artificial Intelligence , pp. 257 - 274
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Bibliography

Barnard, P. J. 2019. “Sticks, Stones, and the Origins of Sapience”. In Squeezing Minds from Stones: Cognitive Archaeology and the Evolution of the Human Mind, ed. Overmann, K. A. and Coolidge, F. L.. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Barrington-Ward, S. 2014. The Jesus Prayer: A Way to Contemplation. Bible Reading Fellowship.Google Scholar
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Ware, K. 2014. The Jesus Prayer. Catholic Truth Society.Google Scholar
Watts, F. 2013. “Dual System Theories of Religious Cognition.” In Head and Heart: Perspectives from Religion and Psychology, ed. Watts, F. and Dumbreck, G.. Templeton Press.Google Scholar
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Further Reading

Barnard, P. 2019. “Sticks, Stones, and the Origins of Sapience”. In Squeezing Minds from Stones: Cognitive Archaeology and the Evolution of the Human Mind, ed. Overmann, K. A. and Coolidge, F. L.. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Barnard, P. and Bowman, H. 2004. “Rendering Information Processing Models of Cognition and Affect Computationally Explicit: Distributed Executive Control and the Deployment of Attention.” Cognitive Science Quarterly 3(3), 297–328.Google Scholar
Barnard, P. and May, J. 1999. “Representing Cognitive Activity in Complex Tasks.” Human Computer Interaction 14(1–2), 93–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrington-Ward, S. 1996. The Jesus Prayer: A Way to Contemplation. Bible Reading Fellowship.Google Scholar
D’Aquili, E. and Newberg, A. B. 1999. The Mystical Mind: The Biology of Religious Experience. Fortress Press.Google Scholar
Duke, D. J. et al. 1998. “Syndetic Modelling”. Human Computer Interaction 13(4), 337–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, C. D. L. 2010. The Globalisation of Hesychasm and the Jesus Prayer: Contesting Contemplation. Continuum.Google Scholar
Kabat-Zinn, J. 2013. Full Catastrophe Living: How to Cope with Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation. Piatkus.Google Scholar
McGilchrist, I. 2009. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Makings of the Western World. Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Teasdale, J. D. 2022. Understanding Mindfulness and Inner Awakening: A Psychological Approach. Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Teasdale, J. D. and Barnard, P. J. 1993. Affect, Cognition and Change. Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Wallace, A. B. 2007. Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge. Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Ware, K. 2014. The Jesus Prayer. Catholic Truth Society.Google Scholar
Watson, G., Batchelor, S. and Claxton, G. eds. 1999. The Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Science and Our Day-to-Day Lives. Red Wheel/Weiser.Google Scholar
Watts, F. 2017. Psychology, Religion and Spirituality: Concepts and Applications. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watts, F. and Dumbreck, G. eds. 2013. Head and Heart: Perspectives from Religion and Psychology. Templeton Press.West, M. A. ed. 2016. The Psychology of Meditation: Research and Practice. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Williams, J., Mark, G. and Kabat-Zinn, J. 2013. Mindfulness: Diverse Perspectives on Its Meaning, Origins and Applications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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