A Cognition Transformed

Abstract

This chapter traces the transformation of cognition in the West. By sketching the example of Christian belief in the Christendom of the Middle Ages, this chapter shows that the natural, immediate and normal way of understanding reality was in terms of otherworldly forces; events were actually experienced as the work of these forces. Manipulating these forces was often achieved through relics, and resulted in miracles. Beginning in the sixteenth century, this cognitive style gradually receded in importance, as the scientific revolution and its subsequent application in technology, steadily encouraged a completely new mode of cognition, one seeking explanation in terms of this-worldly causes. Religious tradition and authority gradually gave way to observation and experiment. Not all cultures share this scientific approach, as is argued in reference to Africa (Senegal in particular) where the normal explanation of worldly events is in terms of malleable otherworldly forces.