e-rhizome, 2022 (vol. 4), issue 1

Editors’ Preface

Silvie Kotherová

e-rhizome 2022, 4(1)  

This issue of e-Rhizome is dedicated to Dr. Dimitris Xygalatas’ newly published book, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living.

Dimitris Xygalatas' Scientific Study of Ritual.
A review on Dimitris Xygalatas, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living, London: Profile Books, 2022.

Luther H. Martin

e-rhizome 2022, 4(1):2-9 | DOI: 10.5507/rh.2022.001  

Xygalatas identifies religious ritual as a special type of human ritualized behavior generally, the scientific study, of which, he maintains, is "in full development." While I have been less convinced that this is the case with any 'scientific' study of religion, Xygalatas has been a pioneer among those who have, in fact, engaged in a truly scientific study of religious ritual, both in the laboratory as well as, more interestingly, in the field. His overview of the state of this research, including his own, presents a wealth of investigative conclusions in an informative and engaging manner.

A Missed Opportunity.
A review on Dimitris Xygalatas, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living, London: Profile Books, 2022.

Joel Mort

e-rhizome 2022, 4(1):10-17 | DOI: 10.5507/rh.2022.002  

This review recognizes that Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living has many good qualities and relates a story of scholarship that, according to the assertions of the author, heralds a brave new world of interdisciplinary examination of research objects heretofore the traditional and exclusive province of anthropology, comparative religion, and the humanities in general. But despite the seemingly broad sense of acceptance this book claims for the Cognitive Science of Religion, the decades-old field upon which the tenets of this book are based, in reality it betrays itself as a microcosm of a niche-driven interpretation often...

An adventurous expedition into the land of naturalistic ritual research.
A review on Dimitris Xygalatas, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living, London: Profile Books, 2022.

Andrej Mentel

e-rhizome 2022, 4(1):18-28 | DOI: 10.5507/rh.2022.003  

The book under review provides an overview of various aspects of ritual within evolutionary and cognitive religious studies. The almost exclusive focus on a naturalistic research program may, at first glance, appear as an inappropriate narrowing of perspective. However, it has the advantage that the different theoretical approaches within this program speak essentially the same language, allowing for productive discussion. The content of the book is based on a careful selection of both ethnographic and experimental research but is delivered in a lively narrative style. This makes the book pleasant to read even for the committed lay person.

Author's response: On the varieties of ritual studies

Dimitris Xygalatas

e-rhizome 2022, 4(1):29-37 | DOI: 10.5507/rh.2022.004  

In this article, the author responds to review articles dedicated to the book "Ritual. How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living," published in 2022., featured in this issue of the e-rhizome journal.