Scott Atran Publications
“Constraints on a Theory of Hominid Tool-Making Behavior,” L’Homme, 1982 by S Atran
Atran_Constraints_on_a_Theory.pdf
“Thick Interpretation in The Middle East,” Current Anthropology, 1 Dec. 1982 by S Atran, D Eickelman
Atran_Thick_Interpretation.pdf
“Covert Fragmenta and the Origins of the Botanical Family,” Man, 1 Mar. 1983 by S Atran
Atran_Covert_Fragmenta.pdf
“Démembrement Social et Remembrement Agraire dans un Village Palestinien,” L’Homme, 1985 by S
Atran
Atran_Demembrement_Social.pdf
“The Nature of Folk-Botanical Life Forms,” American Anthropologist, 1 Jun. 1985 by S Atran
Atran_Nature_of_Folkbotanical_Life.pdf
“Hamula Organisation and Masha’a Tenure in Palestine,” Man, 1 Jun 1986 by S Atran
Atran_Hamula_Organisation.pdf
“Le Masha’a et la Question Foncière en Palestine, 1858-1948,” Annales. Économies, Sociétés,
Civilisations, 1987 by S Atran
Atran_Le_Mashaa.pdf
“Origin of the Species and Genus Concepts: An Anthropological Perspctive,” Journal of the History of
Biology, 1 Jul. 1987 by S Atran
Atran_Origin_of_the_Species.pdf
“The Surrogate Colonization of Palestine, 1917-1939,” American Ethnologist, 1 Nov. 1989 by S Atran
Atran_Surrogate_Colonization_of_Palestine.pdf
“Stones Against the Iron Fist, Terror within the Nation: Alternating Structures of Violence and Cultural
Identity in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” Politics & Society, 1 Dec 1990 by S Atran
Atran_Stones_Against_the_Iron_Fist.pdf
“Folk Biological Cognition,” Current Anthropology, 1 Apr. 1993 by S Atran
Atran_Folk_Biological_Cognition.pdf
“Itza Maya Tropical Agro-Forestry,” Current Anthropology, 1 Dec. 1993 by S Atran
Atran_Itza_Maya.pdf
“The Tree of Life: Universal and Cultural Features of Folkbiological Taxonomies and Inductions,”
Cognitive Psychology, 1 Apr. 1997 by S ATran, A López, J Coley, D Medin, E Smith
Atran_The_Tree_of_Life.pdf
“Folk Biology and the Anthropology of Science: Cognitive Universals and Cultural Particulars,” Behavioral
Brain and Sciences, 1 Aug. 1998 by S Atran
Atran_Folk_Biology.pdf
“Itzaj Maya Folkbiological Taxonomy: Cognitive Universals and Cultural Particulars,” Folbiology, 1999 by
S Atran
Atran_Itzaj_Maya.pdf
“Folkecology and Commons Management in the Maya Lowlands,” Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences of the United States of America, 22 Jun. 1999 by S Atran, D Medin, N Ross, E Lynch, J Coley, E
Ucan Ek, V Vapnarsky
Atran_Folkecology_and_Commons_Management.pdf
“The Case for Modularity: Sin or Salvation,” Evolution and Cognition, 2001 by S Atran
Atran_The_Case_For_Modularity.pdf
“A Cheater-Detection Module? Dubious Interpretations of the Wason Selection Task and Logic,”
Evolution and Cognition, 2001 by S Atran
Atran_Cheater_Detection_Module.pdf
“Folkbiology Doesn’t Come from Folkpsychology: Evidence from Yukatek Maya in Cross-Cultural
Perspective,” Journal of Cognition & Culture, 1 Feb. 2001 by S Atran, D Medin, E Lynch, V Vapnarsky, E
Ucan Ek’, P Sousa
Atran_Folkbiology_Folkpsychology.pdf
“The Trouble With Memes: Inference versus Imitation in Cultural Creation,” Human Nature, 5 Mar. 2001
by S Atran
Atran_The_Trouble_With_Memes.pdf
“Modest Adaptationism: Muddling Trough Cognition and Language,” Behavioral and Brain Sciences,
2002 by S Atran
Atran_Modest_Adaptationism.pdf
“The Neuropsychology of Religion,” NeuroTheology: Brain, Science, Spirituality & Religious Experience,
2002 by S Atran
Atran_Neuropsychology_of_Religion.pdf
“A Bird’s Eye View: Biological Categorization and Reasoning Within and Across Cultures,” Cognition, 1
Feb. 2002 by S Atran, J Bailenson, M Shum, D Medin, J Coley
Atran_A_Birds_Eye_View.pdf
“Folkecology, Cultural Epidemiology, and the Spirit of the Commons,” Current Anthropology, 1 Jun. 2002
by S Atran, D Medin, N Ross, E Lynch, E Ucan Ek’, J Coley, C Timura, M Baran
Atran_Folkecology.pdf
“Thinking About Biology. Modular Constraints on Categorization and Reasoning in the Everyday Life of
Americans, Maya, and Scientists,” Mind & Society, 1 Jun. 2002 by S Atran, D Medin, N Ross
Atran_Thinking_About_Biology.pdf
“Essentialism and Folkbiology: Evidence from Brazil,” Journal of Cognition & Culture, 1 Sep. 2002 by S
Atran, D Medin
Atran_Essentialism_And_Folkbiology.pdf
“Cultural and Experimental Differences in the Development of Folkbiological Induction,” Cognitive
Development, 1 Jan. 2003 by S Atran, J Coley, D Medin, N Ross
Atran_Cultural_and_Experimental_Differences.pdf
“Genesis of Suicide Terrorism,” Science, 7 Mar. 2003 by S Atran
Atran_Genesis_of_Suicide_Terrorism.pdf
“U.S. Off Target in Terror War,” Detroit Free Press, 7 Mar. 2003 by S Atran
Atran_US_Off_Target.pdf
“Théorie Cognitive de la Culture Une Alternative Évolutionniste à la Sociobiology et à la Selection
Collective,” L’Homme, 1 Apr. 2003 by S Atran
Atran_Theorie_Cognitive.pdf
“Who Wants to Be a Martyr?” New York Times, 5 May. 2003 by S Atran
Atran_Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Martyr_.pdf
“A Metamodule for Conceptual Integration: Language or Theory of Mind,” Behavioral and Brain Science,
11 Aug, 2003 by S Atran
Atran_A_Metamodule_for_Conceptual.pdf
“What Motivates a Terrorist,” New York Times, 28 Sep. 2003 by S Atran
Atran_What_Motivates_A_Terrorist.pdf
(This is a letter to the editor. Not sure if it should be included or not)
“The Strategic Threat from Suicide Terror,” AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, Dec. 2003
by S Atran
Atran_The_Strategic_Threat.pdf
“Religion’s Evolutionary Landscape: Counterintuition, Commitment, Compassion, Communion,”
Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2004 by S Atran, A Norenzayan
Atran_Religions_Evolutionary_Landscape.pdf
“Anti-Anti-Cartesianism: A Reply to Shanker,” Current Anthropology, 2004 by S Atran, X Lois
Atran_Anti_Cartesianism.pdf
“Children’s Attributions of Beliefs to Humans and God: Cross-Cultural Evidence,” Cognitive Science, 1 Jan
2004 by S Atran, J Barrett, N Knight, P Sousa
Atran_Childrens_Attributions.pdf
“Individual Factors in Suicide Terrorism,” Science, 2 Apr. 2004 by S Atran, A Tobeña
Atran_Individual_Factors.pdf
“The Jihadist Mutation,” The Jamestown Terrorist Monitor 2, 7 Apr. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_The_Jihadist_Mutation.pdf
“A Leaner, Meaner Jihad,” New York Times, 16 Mar. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_A_Leaner_Meaner_Jihad.pdf
“Evolution and Devolution of Knowledge: A Tale of Two Biologies,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute, 1 Jun. 2004 by S Atran, D Medin, N Ross
Atran_Evolution_And_Devolution.pdf
“Mishandling Suicide Terrorism,” Washington Quarterly, 1 Jul. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_Mishandling_Suicide_Terrorism.pdf
“Trends in Suicide Terrorism: Sense and Nonsense,” World Federation of Scientists, Aug. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_Trends_in_Suicide_Terrorism.pdf
“The Native Mind: Biological Categorization and Reasoning in Development and Across Cultures,”
Psychological Review, 1 Oct. 2004 by S Atran, D Medin
Atran_The_Native_Mind.pdf
“Let Liberty Transform Palestinians, Too,” The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Oct. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_Let_Liberty_Transform.pdf
“Turning Out Hell’s Harpists,” World Federation of Scientists, Nov. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_Hells_Harpists.pdf
“Hamas May Give Peace a Chance,” New York Times, 18 Dec. 2004 by S Atran
Atran_Hamas_May_Give_Peace_a_Chance.pdf
“The Cultural Mind: Environmental Decision Making and Cultural Modeling Within and Across
Populations,” Psychological Review, 2005 by S Atran, D Medin, N Ross
Atran_The_Cultural_Mind.pdf
“The Emir: An Interview with Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, Alleged Leader of the Southeast Asian Jemaah
Islamiyah Organization,” Jamestown Foundation, 2005 by S ATran
Atran_The_Emir.pdf
“Adaptationism for Human Cognition: Strong, Spurious or Weak?” Mind & Language, 1 Feb. 2005 by S
Atran
Atran_Adaptationism.pdf
“Lethal Lapses in Intelligence,” New York Times, 2 Apr. 2005 by S Atran
Atran_Lethal_Lapses.pdf
(Another Letter to the Editor)
“Facing Catastrophe-Risk and Response: The 9-11 and 11-M Commissions’ Blind Sides,” AEI-Brookings
Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, 1 May, 2005 by S Atran
Atran_Facing_Catastrophe.pdf
“The ‘Virtual Hand’ of Jihad,” Terrorism Monitor, 19 May, 2005 by S Atran
Atran_The_Virtual_Hand.pdf
“Unintelligent Design,” Edge, 30 Aug. 2005 by S Atran
Atran_Unintelligent_Design.pdf
“Folkbiology of Freshwater Fish,” Cognition, 6 Sep. 2005 by S Atran, D Medin, N Ross, D Cox, J Coley, J
Proffitt, S Blok
Atran_Folkbiology_of_Freshwater_Fish.pdf
“Small Groups Find Fatal Purpose through the Web,” Nature, 29 Sep. 2005 by S Atran, J Stern
Atran_Small_Groups_Find_Fatal_Purpose.pdf
“In Indonesia, Democracy Isn’t Enough,” New York Times, 5 Oct. 2005 by S Atran
Atran_In_Indonesia_Democracy.pdf
“To Jihad and Back,” Foreign Policy, 1 Nov. 2005 by S Atran
Atran_To_Jihad_and_Back.pdf
“Religion’s Innate Origins and Evolutionary Background,” The Innate Mind: Vol. 2: Culture and Cognition,
2006 by S Atran
Atran_Religions_Innate_Origins.pdf
“A Failure of Imagination (Intelligence, WMDs, and ‘Virtual Jihad’),” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 1
Apr. 2006 by S Atran
Atran_Failure_of_Imagination.pdf
“The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism,” Washington Quarterly, 1 Apr. 2006 by S Atran
Atran_The_Moral_Logic.pdf
“Connecting the Dots,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1 Jul. 2006 by S Atran, M Sageman
Atran_Connecting_the_Dots.pdf
“Sacred Values. If the Middle East Peace Process is to be Salvaged, Israelis and Palestinians Must Make
Symbolic Concessions. But Time is Running Out,” Bulletin of Atomic Sciences, 19 Jul. 2006
Atran_Sacred_Values.pdf
“Is Hamas Ready to Deal?” New York Times, 17 Aug. 2006 by S Atran
Atran_Is_Hamas_Ready_To_Deal.pdf
“Devoted Actor Versus Rational Actor Models for Understanding World Conflict,” The National Security
Council, 14 Sep. 2006 by S Atran
Atran_Devoted_Actor.pdf
“Pakistan: Balancing Act,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1 Nov. 2006 by S Atran
Atran_Balancing_Act.pdf
“Counting Casualties: A Framework for Respectful, Useful Records,” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1
Feb. 2007 by S Atran, B Fischhoff, N Fischhoff
Atran_Counting_Casualties.pdf
“Give Palestine’s Unity Government a Chance,” The Huffington Post, 4 Mar. 2007 by S Atran, R Axelrod,
R Davis
Atran_Palestines_Unity_Government.pdf
“Terror Networks and Sacred Values,” Political Violence Report, 28 Mar. 2007 by S Atran, R Axelrod, R
Davis
Atran_Terror_Networks.pdf
“Sacred Bounds on Rational Resolution of Violent Political Conflict,” Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1 May 2007 by S Atran, D Medin, K Shikaki
Atran_Sacred_Bounds.pdf
“The Nature of Belief,” Science, 28 Jul. 2007 by S Atran
Atran_The_Nature_of_Belief.pdf
“Sacred Barriers to Conflict Resolution,” Science, 24 Aug. 2007 by S Atran, R Axelrod, R Davis
Atran_Sacred_Barriers.pdf
“Social Science. Sacred Barriers to Conflict Resolution,” Science, 24 Aug. 2007 by S Atran, R Axelrod, R
Davis
Atran_Social_Science.pdf
“Cultural Mosaics and Mental Models of Nature,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of
the United States of America, 28 Aug, 2007 by S Atran, M Bang, D Medin
Atran_Cultural_Mosaics.pdf
“Connecting Terrorist Networks,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 1 Jan. 2008 by S Atran, J Magouirk
Atran_Connecting_Terrorist_Networks.pdf
“Jemaah Islamiyah’s Radical Madrassah Networks,” Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, 1 Mar. 2008 by S
Atran, J Magouirk
Atran_Jemaah_Islamiyahs.pdf
“Waterboarding Our Sacred Right,” The Huffington Post, 11 Mar. 2008 by S Atran
Atran_Waterboarding.pdf
“The Making of a Terrorist: A Need for Understanding from the Field,” Testimony before the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, 12 Mar. 2008 by S Atran
Atran_The_Making_of_a_Terrorist.pdf
“Fear Versus Hope in the Fight Against Terror,” The Huffington Post, 25 Jun. 2008 by S Atran
Atran_Fear_v_Hope.pdf
“In Theory: Reframing Sacred Values,” Negotiation Journal, 1 Jul 2008 by S Atran, R Axelrod
Atran_In_Theory.pdf
“Humiliation and the Inertia Effect: Implications for Understanding Violence and Compromise in
Intractable Intergroup Conflicts,” Journal of Cognition & Culture, 1 Sep. 2008 by S Atran, J Gingesa
Atran_Humiliation_and_the_Inertia_Effect.pdf
“Religion in America: Why Many Democrats and European’s Don’t Get It,” The Huffington Post, 13 Sep.
2008 by S Atran
Atran_Religion_In_America.pdf
“The Torture Veto and America’s Image,” New York Times, 11 March, 2009 by S Atran
Atran_The_Torture_Veto.pdf
(Another Letter to the Editor)
“Resilient Faith,” The Guardian, 28 Oct. 2009 by S Atran
Atran_Resilient_Faith.pdf
“How Words Could End a War,” New York Times, 25 Jan. 2009 by S Atran, J Ginges
Atran_Words_Could_End_a_War.pdf
“The Moral Measure of a Civilization Is in Its Treatment of Enemies,” The Huffington Post, 18 Apr. 2009
by S Atran
Atran_The_Moral_Measure.pdf
“What Motivates Participation in Violent Political Action,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,
1 Jun, 2009 by S Atran, J Gines
Atran_What_Motivates_Participation.pdf
“The (Im)moral Logic of the Show Trial,” The Huffington Post, 8 Aug. 2009 by S Atran
Atran_The_Immoral_Logic.pdf
“Barack’s Nobel: A Symbolic Gesture of Hope to the World’s Youth,” The Huffington Post, 10 Oct. 2009
by S Atran
Atran_Baracks_Nobel.pdf
“In Memory of Claude Lévi-Strauss,” International Cognition and Culture Institute, 4 Nov. 2009 by S
Atran
Atran_In_Memory.pdf
“Plaudì la Rivoluzione Cognitiva,” Il Sole 24 Ore, 7 Nov. 2009 by S Atran
Atran_Plaudi_la_Rivoluzione.pdf
“Emerging Sacred Values: Iran’s Nuclear Program,” Judgment and Decision Making, 1 Dec 2009 by S
Atran, M Dehghani, R Iliev, S Sachdeva, J Ginges, D Medin
Atran_Emerging_Sacred_Values.pdf
“To Beat Al Qaeda, Look to the East,” New York Times, 13 Dec. 2009 by S Atran
Atran_To_Beat_Al_Qaeda.pdf
“The Terror Scare,” The Huffington Post, 30, Dec. 2009 by S Atran
Atran_The_Terror_Scare.pdf
“Pathways to and From Violent Extremism: The Case for Science-Based Field Research,” Senate Armed
Services Committee, 10 Mar. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Statement_Before_the_Senate.pdf
“Understanding How the Privileged Become Violent Fanatics,” The Huffington Post, 7 May, 2010 by S
Atran
Atran_Understanding_How_the_Privileged.pdf
“Times Square Bomber: Another of the Dangerous Disillusioned,” The Guardian, 7 May 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Times_Square_Bomber.pdf
“Decentralize, Adapt, Cooperate,” Nature, 20 May 2010 by S Atran et al
Atran_Decentralize_Adapt_Cooperate.pdf
“Why We Talk to Terrorists,” New York Times, 30 Jun. 2010 by S Atran, R Axelrod
Atran_Why_We_Talk_To_Terrorists.pdf
“Mutually Assured Support: A Security Doctrine for Terrorist Nuclear Weapon Threats,” The ANNALS of
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1 Jul. 2010 by S Atran, B Fischhoff, M Sageman
Atran_Mutually_Assured_Support.pdf
“Who Becomes a Terrorist Today?” Perspectives on Terrorism, 1 Jul. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Who_Becomes_a_Terrorist.pdf
“The Romance of Terror,” The Guardian, 19 Jul. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Romance_of_Terror.pdf
“A Question of Honour: Why the Taliban Fight and What to Do About It,” Asian Journal of Social Science,
23 Jul. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Question_of_Honour.pdf
“The Evolution of Religion: How Cognitive By-Products Adaptive Learning Heuristics, Ritual Displays, and
Group Competition Generate Deep Commitments to Prosocial Religions,” Biological Theory Quarterly, 1
Oct. 2010 by S Atran, J Henrich
Atran_The_Evolution_of_Religion.pdf
“Turning the Taliban Against Al Qaeda,” New York Times, 27 Oct. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Turning_the_Taliban.pdf
“Keystone Al-Kaeda: In the Battle Against Al Qaeda, the Only thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself,
Foreign Policy, 5 Nov. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Keystone_Al_Kaeda.pdf
“The Taliban’s Expat Jihadists,” The Guardian, 29 Nov. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_Talibans_Expat_Jihadists.pdf
“Nato’s Mission Impossible: Its Effects on the Afghan Partisan Movement and on US,” The Huffington
Post, 28 Nov. 2010 by S Atran
Atran_NATOs_Mission_Impossible.pdf
“Calling the Muslim Brotherhood,” The National Interest, 2 Feb. 2011 by S Atran
Atran_Calling_the_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdf
“Egypt’s Bumbling Brotherhood,” New York Times, 3 Feb. 2011 by S Atran
Atran_Egypt's_Bumbling_Brotherhood.pdf
“Pumping Up the Muslim Brotherhood,” The Huffington Post, 4 Feb 2011 by S Atran
Atran_Pumping_Up.pdf
“Sam Harris’s Guide to Nearly Everything,” National Interest, 1 Mar. 2011 by S Atran
Atran_Sam_Harriss_Guide.pdf