From Extrinsic Teleology to Existential Autonomy

In the paper's words

The systematic invalidation of supernatural causality via cognitive science and epistemic naturalism compels a fundamental ontological reorientation, displacing divinely imposed purpose in favor of an intrinsic agency rooted in the ambiguous freedom of the subject. The evaluation of miraculous phenomena necessitates a rigorous application of methodological naturalism, functioning as a primary epistemological filter that prioritizes the nomological consistency of the physical universe over anecdotal anomalies. As Hume (1748) established in his treatment of testimony, the probability that a witness is deceived, delusional, or cognitively compromised statistically exceeds the probability that a fundamental law of nature has been suspended.

The abstract, verbatim, and its opening sentence is the claim. Every line below is quoted from the text.

Numbers it reports

No sentence of this paper reports a figure with a unit or a quantity word, so none is shown.

How it is done

No section of this paper is shaped like a method, so no method sentence is quoted.

What would falsify it

1. This cognitive friction manifests as a refusal to accept coincidence or physical indifference; the subject subconsciously filters for confirmatory evidence that supports a teleological narrative while discarding disconfirming data.

   from The Cognitive

Where the claim stops

1. Consequently, the persistence of supernatural claims—such as divine intervention or physical resurrection—cannot be regarded as evidence of metaphysical intrusion, but rather as the output of specific, identifiable errors in human information processing.

   from The Cognitive

2. In an ancestral context, the cost of a false positive (mistaking a shadow for a predator) was negligible compared to the fatal cost of a false negative; however, in a modern epistemic context, this mechanism generates a systematic bias toward animism and theism.

   from The Cognitive

3. Confronted with stochastic or inexplicable phenomena, the cognitive apparatus defaults to a “god of the gaps” fallacy, resolving epistemic tension by invoking a supernatural agent rather than tolerating uncertainty or investigating complex natural causes.

   from The Cognitive

Where to read

1. The Cognitive460 words · 2 min
2. The Collapse of the Serious555 words · 2 min
3. Facticity and the511 words · 2 min