History as a Canceled Problem? Hilbert Lists, du Bois-Reymond’s Enigmas, and the Scientific Study of Religion

The present article reviews the identification of “Hilbert Problems” in the scientific study of religion as presented in a call for papers and a subsequent special issue of Religion, Brain & Behavior (2015; 2017). Specific attention is herein devoted to some overlooked epistemological and methodological issues, that is, mathematical Platonism and presentism. Most importantly, notwithstanding the advances produced by the recent experimental turn in the cognitive science of religion, this paper recognizes the existence of a “historical problem” in the field, that is, a belittling or neglect of historiography and nonmathematical sciences. Since most of such biases are also embedded in the original Hilbert Problems, a historiographical reanalysis of the cultural context in which the Hilbert Problems were advanced is provided. Finally, the paper proposes a list of themes in urgent need of a reappraisal and argues for a sustained multi-disciplinary collaboration with the ultimate aim to promote cross-disciplinary integration.