OPENING PATHS IN PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION BY INCORPORATING AFRO-BRAZILIAN TRADITIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26512/2358-82842021e41992Keywords:
Candomblé; Umbanda; Mediumship; Sacrifice; Dense Description; Cognitive Prosthesis.Abstract
From an analysis of the two main African traditions in
Brazil, candomblé and umbanda, some questions for the
Philosophy of Religion are suggested. Among them, that this
discipline needs to review its methodology to embrace Other
religious traditions and that studying them contributes to illuminate
the Philosophy of Religion itself. Throughout the article, I will do
this by pointing out that the ritual practices, oral traditions and
ethnographies of candomblé and umbanda can open paths to
several methodological, epistemological, and metaphysical debates
in the Philosophy of Religion. In order to achieve this purpose, I
will gesture in the direction of two recommendations: the first
consists in employing dense descriptions to facilitate more richly
contextualised understandings of religious phenomena; the second
is to understand rituals as properly cognitive endeavours.
Keywords: Candomblé; Umbanda; Mediumship; Sacrifice; Dense
Description; Cognitive Prosthesis.
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