TY - GEN N1 - ISSN 1470-5648 ID - cogprints4863 UR - http://cogprints.org/4863/ A1 - Evola, Vito Y1 - 2005/08// N2 - In this essay a hermeneutic model of the higher level understanding during on-line ritual reading by devotees of their respective sacred literatures is proposed, using the instruments provided by cognitive sciences. The way a devotee reads a sacred text differs from the way he or she would read a common piece of literature or how a lay person might read the same sacred text. After providing an overview of metaphor, anthropomorphism, and the ?religious brain?, it is suggested how devotee-readers might make sense of a religious text and why it should be so important for their own personal everyday life. Universals are implicated in this genre of literature and the way it is interpreted. PB - University of Wales - Aberystwyth KW - literary universals KW - religious literature KW - cognitive linguistics KW - metaphor KW - semiotics KW - limbic system KW - attention KW - memory KW - higher level thinking KW - consciousness KW - empathy KW - rituals KW - anthropomorphism KW - reading KW - authority KW - brain imaging TI - Cognitive Semiotics and On-Line Reading of Religious Texts AV - public ER -