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Cognitive Scientist
Boyer's cognitive science framework, developed alongside Justin Barrett, proposes that beings which are human in most respects but wrong in one salient dimension are maximally memorable and transmissible, offering a parsimonious account for why giant traditions arise independently across cultures.
Quick Facts
Born
1953 · Paris, France
Nationality
French
Current Role
Cognitive Scientist
Appears In
Giants Among Us: Myth, Bone, and the Archaeology of a Global Obsession
82%His work on minimally counterintuitive concepts provides a mechanistic explanation for why giant traditions emerge independently across all human cultures without requiring a shared historical referent.
Nature's Exit Protocol: Darwin's Wasp, Predation Neurochemistry & the Mercy Problem
79%Boyer's work in the cognitive science of religion is cited to argue that universal soul concepts reflect shared neurocognitive architecture rather than shared metaphysical reality.