Comments Elsewhere

Razib: ‘If you give them the word “god” most people would have an “idea” somewhere around the middle of the sphere, that is, an MRI would show the same general image, they would react in the same way to prayer or ritual, etc.’

But the conclusion that the ordinary people are having the same idea cross-culturally only follows from the evidence given if having the same electrochemical reactions in the brain and the same individual behavior constitute (or at least entail) having the same idea.

But they don’t, at least, not all the time.

If you could look at all the individual behavior and the brain processes and so on of a medieval peasant and her counterpart on Twin Earth (which is identical to Earth except that the seas, lakes, rivers, etc. are all filled with a substance XYZ, which is chemically very different from H2O but looks, tastes, feels, functions, etc. the same under ordinary circumstances) having to do with the word “water,” you would no doubt see exactly the same thing in both cases. But that doesn’t mean that they mean the same thing when they say the word “water”: the Earthling peasant means the stuff that turns out to be H2O, and the Twin Earthling means the stuff that turns out to be XYZ.

The parallels you might draw between this, and the deference over, e.g., the nature of rituals, matters of theological doctrine, etc. that the laity offer to theological elites (whether formal or informal), should be obvious.

Cut the pie any way you like, meanings just ain’t in the head.