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The topic of intelligence involves questions that cut deep into ultimate concerns and human identity, and the study of intelligence is an ideal ground for dialogue between science and religion. This volume investigates the notion of spiritual intelligence from a variety of perspectives, bringing together contributions from theology, computer science, linguistics, psychology, biology, and cognitive science. It defines spiritual intelligence as "processing things differently, not processing different things" and aims to describe it in naturalistic terms. Spiritual intelligence is not regarded as a separate mental module or a magical ability to interact with the supernatural but rather as a specific, more spiritual way of engagement with reality, which has observable cognitive, phenomenal, and linguistic characteristics. The book is valuable reading for those working at the interface between science and spirituality.
List of contents
Part I: The concept of "spiritual intelligence"
1 Spiritual intelligence: Editorial introduction
Marius Dorobantu and Fraser Watts
2 Cognitive processing in spiritual intelligence
Fraser Watts
3 Participatory spiritual intelligence: A theological perspective
Jordan Joseph Wales
Part II: Computational approaches
4 Cognitive modelling of spiritual practices
Vanessa Mathews and Fraser Watts
5 A social and computational perspective on spiritual intelligence
William F. Clocksin
6 Spiritual and artificial intelligence
Marius Dorobantu
Part III: Diverse intelligences
7 A biological perspective on spiritual intelligence
Michael J. Reiss
8 Spiritual intelligence in persons with intellectual disabilities
Michiel Bouman
9 Practical spiritual intelligence: Integrative complexity
Sara Savage
Part IV: Linguistic aspects
10 Metaphorical semantics in spiritual intelligence
Nicholas Ostler
11 Language use in spiritual practice
Harris Wiseman
12 Cultural Practice as Spiritual Practice: Margaret Masterman and the return to the Metaphysical
Catherine Pickstock
Part V: Transpersonal aspects
13 Participation in spiritual aspects of reality
Fraser Watts
14 "Spiritual intelligence" and the theology of the spirit
Rowan Williams
15 Spiritual intelligence across religions
Mark Vernon
About the author
Marius Dorobantu is an Assistant Professor of Theology & Artificial Intelligence at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Fraser Watts was formerly Reader in Theology and Science at the University of Cambridge. He is now Executive Secretary of the International Society for Science and Religion and Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln. He is co-editor of the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Religion and AI.
Summary
The topic of intelligence involves questions that cut deep into ultimate concerns and human identity, and the study of intelligence is ideal ground for dialogue between science and religion.
