Books by Indrek Peedu
Estonian Study of Religion A Reader, 2019
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This doctoral thesis deals with the issue of positioning the scholar in the context of the study ... more This doctoral thesis deals with the issue of positioning the scholar in the context of the study of religion. This is a complex matter, where methodological and epistemological issues intertwine. In short, this is an issue of deciding who the scholar of religion is or can be in relation to his or her ‘object of research’. To what extent can a scholar of religion remain a neutral, scientific observer or to what extent is he or she an inevitable part of the cultural and religious context of the field of research itself as well? These issues will be dealt with primarily within the context of the cognitive and evolutionary sciences of religion. In these fields of research, the idea of methodological naturalism has become very influential over the past few decades and many have argued that this is the best position for evolutionary study of religion as well as for the study of religion in general. In my thesis I show why justifications of methodological naturalism are not as strong as its advocates have argued and how the theory of evolutionary does not inevitably require one to position oneself naturalistically. Furthermore, the second part of the thesis exemplifies how it is possible to develop a position, which is the exact opposite of methodological naturalism in epistemological matters concerning the supernatural, but at the same time it is also just as consistent with the main premises of evolutionary theory as methodological naturalism. In the last part of the thesis I am placing methodological naturalism into a larger comparative framework, to highlight its strengths and weaknesses in comparison to such potential alternatives as methodological agnosticism, neutrality and the dialogical position.
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Papers by Indrek Peedu
Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, 2023
Issues of method and methodology continue to occupy center-stage with no shortage of attempts to ... more Issues of method and methodology continue to occupy center-stage with no shortage of attempts to decisively lay out the correct meanings and spheres of relevance for both concepts. Here, first of all, the focus will be on charting, describing and analyzing the whole variety of meanings these concepts have acquired in the study of religion. Secondly, some of the noteworthy attempts to make sense of the diversity of meanings will be discussed. And thirdly, I will propose and explain a three-dimensional model that I consider more helpful both for describing as well as for analyzing the whole discussion than any of the current proposals. Importantly, this model also makes it easier to highlight substantial similarities with certain other topics and discussions which are oftentimes not using the concept of method(ology) at all, but which should nonetheless be seen as discussing the same general issues.
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Numen, 2018
This article aims to analyze how scholars of religions have studied the history of the discipline... more This article aims to analyze how scholars of religions have studied the history of the discipline itself, with particular emphasis on the question of its beginning. Although situating the beginning of the discipline in the late 19th century is prevalent, there are dissenting voices in this debate. Interestingly, a similar discussion exists in the history of science. There, Andrew Cunningham has argued in favor of understanding scientific practice as a human activity and thus writing histories of science as histories of an activity. The latter part of this article explains how implementing Cunningham’s approach can be useful for the study of the history of religious studies, making it possible to study the intellectual and institutional aspects as parts of one whole. I will draw attention to how this approach can help us analyze the question of the beginnings of the discipline.
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Estonian Study of Religion: A Reader, 2019
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Issues in Science and Theology: Do Emotions Shape the World? , 2016
The following paper intends to point out how the concepts in use have significantly influenced an... more The following paper intends to point out how the concepts in use have significantly influenced and directed research in the cognitive science of religion – especially regarding the treatment and analysis of emotions and their relation to human religiosity. To exemplify this, the positions of the main cognitive researchers will be analysed and their concepts of religion highlighted. For contrast and comparison I will also highlight the way religiosity and emotionality are conceptualized and analysed in the costly signalling theory of religion, which can be considered an evolutionary alternative to cognitive approaches. In a more general discussion I will argue that the choosing of concepts and categories is a methodological act in the human sciences, comparable to the choice of experimental method in the natural sciences. However, as historical and anthropological comparative studies have well shown, it has become highly questionable whether the central concepts of the cognitive approach do signify something universally existent. Thus, because cognitive approaches have borrowed their conceptual tools from fields and conceptual systems which have fallen under severe criticism, they cannot afford to ignore the criticisms which have been raised concerning the usage of such concepts.
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When Gods Spoke: Researches and Reflections on Religious Phenomena and Artefacts, 2015
Phenomenology of religion as a research project has fallen out of favour in the past few decades.... more Phenomenology of religion as a research project has fallen out of favour in the past few decades. Yet discussions about the feasibility and relevance of the phenomenological approach continue. In one way or another most of the current approaches in the study of religion rely on the disciplinary background of the earlier phe-nomenologies. This article analyses a couple of the more recent proposals that have reconsidered the relevance of the phenomenological approach, aiming to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of these proposals in relation to the goals of the study of religion. Based on this review and analysis of current discussions I argue in the second half of my article that the phenomenology of religion can still serve as an important part of the study of religion and avoid criticisms it previously invited if it is remodelled into an endeavour of 'typologi-cal analysis' in the sense explained in the second half of this article. In one way or another all contemporary approaches to the study of religion relate to the phenomenology of religion. The most prevalent way is certainly conceptual: many (if not most) of the conceptual tools, their meanings and their supposed universality have been taken from the ty-pological and categorical distinctions of earlier generalized phenomenol-ogies. This is apparent from postmodernist approaches, which strongly oppose the phenomenology of religion, to the modern cognitive study of religion that aims to analyse and explain religion as a general phenomenon by highlighting many of the same characteristics that earlier were central to the phenomenologies of religion. Aside from conceptual tools, there is also the understanding that one should maintain neutrality in
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Usuteaduslik Ajakiri, 2021
Models of Interpretation and Masing: How to Read „Üldine usundilugu“?
On models of interpretatio... more Models of Interpretation and Masing: How to Read „Üldine usundilugu“?
On models of interpretation and Uku Masing or how to understand „Üldine usundilugu“? This article deals with the issue of using conceptual and historical models for the purposes of interpreting Uku Masing. Primary focus is on his major work, „Üldine usundilugu“ and how it has been understood over the years and why these interpretations are misleading. Instead, an alternative reading of this book is presented. This is used to exemplify the more complex methodological problem of relying
on historical and conceptual models in research. It is argued that this has become too prevalent in research on Masing. Instead, more attention should be paid to the actual intellectual context of Masing’s development, the fields of research and the schools of thought he himself is in clear
dialogue with.
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Usuteaduslik Ajakiri, 2021
Concerning „Asenduskristlus” and Research that Focuses on it – Methodological and Theoretical Asp... more Concerning „Asenduskristlus” and Research that Focuses on it – Methodological and Theoretical Aspects
This paper focuses on the ’asenduskristlus’ (a modification of the ’vicarious religion’ concept), a debate that has emerged in the Estonian
study of religion recently. The article deals with the methodological and theoretical aspects of the debate, criticising certain presumptions and arguments made by one or another participant and highlighting a number of issues that need to be taken into account to address the methodologically focused questions that have been raised during this debate. These issues are analysed from three distinct perspectives: (1) method and theory in relation to the general research design, (2) the role and use of concepts in the study of religion, and (3) the study of ‘visible’ or ‘hidden’ aspects of religiosity.
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Usuteaduslik Ajakiri, 2017
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Usuteaduslik Ajakiri, 2016
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Usuteaduslik Ajakiri, 2015
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Studia Philosophica Estonica, 2015
Filosoofia ja üleüldse inimmõtlemise naturaliseeritavuse küsimus on viimase aja mõtteloos üks akt... more Filosoofia ja üleüldse inimmõtlemise naturaliseeritavuse küsimus on viimase aja mõtteloos üks aktuaalsemaid. Siinses artiklis analüüsin ma ühe sellise naturaliseerimiskatse — evolutsioonilise epistemoloogia — põhilisi seisukohti, otsustamaks, kuivõrd edukaks uurimisprogrammiks võib seda pidada. Arutluse selle programmi õigustatuse või edukuse üle olen jaotanud kuue põhiteema vahel, esitades järgmised küsimused. (() Mida tähendab "teadmine" vaadeldavates argumentatsioonides? (2) Kuivõrd saab esitatud järeldusi empiiriliselt uurida? (3) Kui vajalik teadmine evolutsiooniliselt üldsegi on? (4) Kas evolutsioonilisest epistemoloogiast on võimalik tuletada mõne konkreetse maailmavaatelise positsiooni õigsust? (5) Kas teadust saab rakendada usaldusväärse abivahendina esitatud argumentide õigustamisel? (6) Kas selliselt on lõppkokkuvõttes tegu epistemoloogia biologiseerimise või hoopiski alternatiivse uurimisprogrammiga? Tervikuna on artikli eesmärgiks näidata, miks rangelt võttes on õigustatav evolutsioonilist epistemoloogiat oma põhilistes eesmärkides pidada ebaõnnestunuks, kuid samas just selle tõttu osutub ta palju huvitavamaks näiteks laiemas küsimuses, mida ja kuivõrd on inimlikust po-sitsioonist võimalik uurida. Märksõnad: bioloogiafilosoofia, evolutsiooniline epistemoloogia, evolutsioon, filosoofia naturaliseerimine, loodusteaduste ja filosoofia
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Studia Philosophica Estonica, 2015
Selle artikli eesmärgiks on käsitleda evolutsioonilise epistemoloogia uurimisprogrammi ajaloolist... more Selle artikli eesmärgiks on käsitleda evolutsioonilise epistemoloogia uurimisprogrammi ajaloolist kujunemist, põhitähelepanuga põhilistel teoreetilistel argumentidel. Evolutsiooniline epistemoloogia tähendab siinkohal lähenemist, mille eesmärgiks oli laiemalt filosoofia ja kitsamalt epistemoloogia biologiseerimine ehk epistemoloogia küsimustele bioloogia kaudu vastuste leidmine. Seega on epistemoloogia naturaliseerimine selle uurimisprogrammi järgi võimalik, kui rakendada bioloogilisi ja evolutsiooniteoreetilisi teadmisi ja töömeetodeid. Ometi on praeguseks valdavalt jõutud veendumusele, et seatud eesmärke pole õnnestunud saavutada, seda hoolimata asjaolust, et vaadeldava uurimisprogrammi evolutsiooniline lähtepunkt on endiselt üldtunnustatud. Tingituna vastuolulisest hetkeseisust on siinses artiklis põhitähelepanu all evolutsioonilise epistemoloogia kujunemine Darwinist ja. sajandist alates käesoleva ajani. Eelkõige keskendun. sajandi teise poole põhilis-te teoreetikute (Campbell, Vollmer, Wuketits, Plotkin) seisukohtade ja hüpoteeside analüüsimisele, toomaks välja põhilised tulemused ja eesmärgid, mida püüti saavu-tada ja mille kaudu epistemoloogia biologiseerimist võimalikuks peeti. Eritähelepanu pööran seejuures põhiteoreetikute ideede sarnasustele ja erinevustele, andmaks hinnangut sellele, kuivõrd õnnestunuks esitatud argumente praeguses seisus pidada võib. Märksõnad: bioloogia losooa, evolutsiooniline epistemoloogia, evolutsioon, loodusteaduste ja filosoofia suhe, filosoofia naturaliseerimise ajalugu.
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Akadeemia, 2022
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Akadeemia, Mar 2014
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Akadeemia, 2012
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Book Reviews by Indrek Peedu
Akadeemia, 2017
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Usuteaduslik Ajakiri, 2015
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Announcements by Indrek Peedu
Announcement of the 2020 ESSSAT Prize winners.
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Books by Indrek Peedu
Papers by Indrek Peedu
On models of interpretation and Uku Masing or how to understand „Üldine usundilugu“? This article deals with the issue of using conceptual and historical models for the purposes of interpreting Uku Masing. Primary focus is on his major work, „Üldine usundilugu“ and how it has been understood over the years and why these interpretations are misleading. Instead, an alternative reading of this book is presented. This is used to exemplify the more complex methodological problem of relying
on historical and conceptual models in research. It is argued that this has become too prevalent in research on Masing. Instead, more attention should be paid to the actual intellectual context of Masing’s development, the fields of research and the schools of thought he himself is in clear
dialogue with.
This paper focuses on the ’asenduskristlus’ (a modification of the ’vicarious religion’ concept), a debate that has emerged in the Estonian
study of religion recently. The article deals with the methodological and theoretical aspects of the debate, criticising certain presumptions and arguments made by one or another participant and highlighting a number of issues that need to be taken into account to address the methodologically focused questions that have been raised during this debate. These issues are analysed from three distinct perspectives: (1) method and theory in relation to the general research design, (2) the role and use of concepts in the study of religion, and (3) the study of ‘visible’ or ‘hidden’ aspects of religiosity.
Book Reviews by Indrek Peedu
Announcements by Indrek Peedu
On models of interpretation and Uku Masing or how to understand „Üldine usundilugu“? This article deals with the issue of using conceptual and historical models for the purposes of interpreting Uku Masing. Primary focus is on his major work, „Üldine usundilugu“ and how it has been understood over the years and why these interpretations are misleading. Instead, an alternative reading of this book is presented. This is used to exemplify the more complex methodological problem of relying
on historical and conceptual models in research. It is argued that this has become too prevalent in research on Masing. Instead, more attention should be paid to the actual intellectual context of Masing’s development, the fields of research and the schools of thought he himself is in clear
dialogue with.
This paper focuses on the ’asenduskristlus’ (a modification of the ’vicarious religion’ concept), a debate that has emerged in the Estonian
study of religion recently. The article deals with the methodological and theoretical aspects of the debate, criticising certain presumptions and arguments made by one or another participant and highlighting a number of issues that need to be taken into account to address the methodologically focused questions that have been raised during this debate. These issues are analysed from three distinct perspectives: (1) method and theory in relation to the general research design, (2) the role and use of concepts in the study of religion, and (3) the study of ‘visible’ or ‘hidden’ aspects of religiosity.