Description
Book SynopsisSince the middle of the last century, the emergence and development of fields as diverse as artificial intelligence, evolutionary science, cognitive linguistics, and neuroscience have led to a greater understanding of the ways in which humans think. One of the major discoveries involves what researchers refer to as conceptual mapping. According to theories of conceptual mapping, human thought is profoundly shaped by the ability to make connections. Simply put, human thinking is metaphorical all the way down. This insight has revolutionized the way in which scientists and philosophers think about the mind/body problem, the formation and function of language, and even the development of scientific progress itself. Until recently however, this research has gone largely unnoticed within Christian theology. But this revolution in understanding human cognition calls for broader and richer engagement with theology and religious studies: How does this new insight into human meaning-making bear on our understanding of religious meaning-making? And how might Christian theology interpret and respond to this new understanding of the development of human thought? This edited volume offers an introduction to conceptual mapping that is accessible to those with no previous knowledge of the field, and demonstrates the substantial resources this interdisciplinary research has for thinking about a variety of theological questions. The book begins with a chapter introducing the reader to the basics of conceptual mapping. The remaining chapters apply these insights to a variety of theological topics including anthropology, sacramental theology, biblical studies, ecumenical theology, and ethics.
Trade ReviewKidd and Rinderknecht have assembled an excellent collection of essays that brings insights from the cognitive sciences to bear on key loci in Christian theology and theological anthropology. Together, these essays shed important new light on how distinctive aspects of human embodiment and our capacities for symbolic thinking can shape our ideas about God, our engagement with God, and our understanding of humanity’s relationship to God. The book is engaging and accessible; and, focusing as it does on issues at the intersection of philosophy, theology, and the cognitive sciences, it is also richly interdisciplinary. -- Michael Rea, University of Notre Dame
Cognitive linguistics offers incredibly helpful tools to understand what is going on in theological debates. This book nicely adds to the growing list of people using conceptual blending to help Christians better understand, and perhaps even resolve, debates ranging from the Eucharist to frozen embryos. -- John Sanders, Hendrix College
Table of ContentsForeword Robert Masson Chapter One: An Introduction to Conceptual Mapping Erin Kidd & Jakob Karl Rinderknecht Chapter Two: The Embodied Mind and How to Pray With One Erin Kidd Chapter Three: Homo Symbolicus: Cognition and Communion Julia Feder Chapter Four: Conceptual Blending, Human Distinctiveness, and the Image of God Jason P. Roberts Chapter Five: Kenosis as a Pauline Metaphor within a Double-scope Blend Christopher M. Hadley Chapter Six: Eucharistic Spirituality and Metaphoric Asymmetry Stephen R. Shaver Chapter Seven: Conceptual Mapping and Reception in Ecumenical Theology Jakob Karl Rinderknecht Chapter Eight: My Good, Your Good, and the Good: Conceptual Mapping and Altruism Adam Willows Chapter Nine: Beyond ‘Cannot Be Resolved’: Considering Ways Forward for Frozen Embryos Kathryn Lilla Cox
