Definitions of “Religion” • Many • Modernist • Evolutionary: Minimalist & Maximalist -- Do Work -- Have Consequences
Jan 11, 2016
Definitions of “Religion”
• Many • Modernist• Evolutionary: Minimalist & Maximalist
-- Do Work-- Have Consequences
Evolutionary Definitions
Minimalist (Byproduct)
• Spirit Ideas• Soul Beliefs• “Invisible Agents”
• Focus on Ideas
Maximalist (Adaptation)
• Ritual Practices• Emotional States • Transcendence• Morals/Ethics
• Focus on Practices
Definitions and Agendas
• Minimalist: used by rationalists/atheists to identify “origins” and “explain religion” as psychological epiphenomena or error
• Maximalist: used by evolutionary theists to show religion is “adaptive” and progressed from “primitive” to “modern”
What is “Religion”?
• Constructed Category
– Historical– Cultural– Political– Legal– Confessional – Academic/Analytic
Category & Construct of “Religion”
• Supernatural/Natural• Heaven/Earth• Sacred/Profane• Spiritual/Physical• Religious/Secular
Cartesian Dualism (Mind/Body)• Enlightenment Categories• Western & Christian Ideas
WEIRD (Plus C)• Western• Educated• Industrialized• Rich• Democratic• Christian
Cognitive “Byproduct” Theories
• Natural Selection on Individuals• Focus on “Religious” Ideas
• Religion as Psychological Byproduct • “Religion” Not an Adaptation
• Many Atheists
Emphasis on Subconscious Processing
• Reliably Develops in All Humans• Automatic• Effortless• Super Fast• Habitual• Narrow Tasks
“Religion” Related Modules
• Causal Attribution• Pattern Imposition• Theory of Mind• Agency Detection• Teleology/Design• Commonsense Dualism
Combined Byproducts: Ordinary Cognition
• Describes Normal Human Mind• Product of Pan-Human Neurobiology• Does Not Describe “Religious” Mind
Durkheim’s Critique
• Too “Intellectualist” (Ideas)• Too “Individualist” (Psychology)• Natural Selection Eliminates Errors & Illusions • Ancestors Would Not Have Survived• Must Be Some Other Explanation
Durkheim’s Explanation
• Religion is Product of Collective Rituals• Group Rituals Arouse Intense Emotions• Emotions Fixed as “Sacred” Symbols
• Society Worships These “Totem” Symbols• Totemism & Later Religions are “Social Glue”
Evolutionary “Adaptive” Theories
• Natural Selection on Groups• Focus on “Religious” Practices• Rituals as Social Glue• “Religion” Is An Adaptation• Many Theists
Two Adaptive Theories
• Costly “Ritual” Signaling: Trust, Reliability, Prosociality, and Altruism
• Group Level Selection: Religion (enabled by language, ideas, symbols) Binds Group Together and Motivates
Critique of Adaptive Theories
• Kin Selection (Inclusive Fitness)• Reciprocal Altruism (Tit for Tat)
• No Group Level Selection (Only Individual)
NEW DEBATE IS OLD DEBATE
• Byproduct Theorists:
• Focus on Ideas• Individual Psychology• Cognitive Errors• Not an Adaptation
MODERN TYLORIANS
• Adaptationists:
• Focus on Practices• Group Psychology• Prosocial Benefits• Adaptation
MODERN DURKHEIMIANS
Where Are We Today?
• Many Good Evolutionary Explanations • Neither Approach is Conclusive• Neither Approach is Exclusive• Need Both Approaches• Need to Disclose Agendas
• Can Support Either Atheism or Theism
Dissolving the Origins Problem
• Behavioral Modernity• Fully “Modern”• Linguistic Fluency• Symbolic Capacities
• Just Like Us
50,000 YEARS AGO: Animist Worldviews
Upper Paleolithic (50,000 BCE): Symbols & Language
• Rock “Art”• Cave Paintings• Body Ornaments• Grave Goods
• Musical Instruments• “Venus” Figurines
Mythical First “Moderns”
– Who Are We?– Where Did We Come From?– How Do Things Work?– Why Do Things Happen?– What Is This Place?– Who Are They?
Language: The Integration Problem
• Inner Reality/Experience• Outer Reality/Events
Making Sense: Shamans & Animist Worldviews
• Theories • Models
• Classifications• Taxonomies• Order
• Explanations
Shamans as Subset/Specialists
• Hunter-Gatherers/Horticulturalists• Animist Worldviews
• Adepts• Apprenticeship• Often “Chosen”
• Dangerous to Deny Calling• Dangerous Calling
“ASC”
Methods of ASC Induction
• Fasting/Starvation• Sweating/Dehydration• Pain/Self-Torture• Dancing/Exhaustion• Rhythmic/Drumming• Isolation/Meditation• Sensory Deprivation• Sleep Deprivation
• Psychotropics (Plants & Brews)
Peopling the World: Powered by Animist Worldviews
Animist Worldviews as Adaptation
• Tightly Linked to Ancestral Lifeways• Hunting & Gathering
• Nomadic or Non-Sedentary• Small Groups (15-150)
• Oral Cultures• Comprehensive Philosophy • Knowledge as Technology
Animist Worldviews
• Unified Cosmology (No Dualisms)• Force or Power
• Thoughts/Symbols are Real• “Nature” as Anthropomorphic Society • Animals are “Other Than Human Persons”• Animated World (Relational Epistemology)
• Primacy of Place (Spatial Ontology)
Totalized “This World” Theory
• Seeing• Perceiving• Constructing• Explaining• Negotiating• Relating• Being
Neolithic Transitions (Domestication of Plants/Animals) & Slow Development of “Religions”
• Sedentism• Surpluses• Specialization• Stratification• Sickness• Slavery
• Sedentism• Surpluses
• Specialization• Stratification• Sickness• Suffering• Slavery
Neolithic Transitions & Scaling
Social Stratification
Neolithic Problems
• Legitimize Authority• Justify Difference• Maintain Power • Social Control• Social Conflict• Social Cohesion
• Group Mobilization
Neolithic “Religious” Responses
• Rulers as Gods• Elites as Priests• Temples as Warehouses• Theology as Politics• Knowledge as Power• Monuments as Symbols• Commands as Signs
Two-Tiered Model of Cosmos:As on Earth, So in Heaven
Late Neolithic Breakdowns & Large-Scale Instability
• Bondage, Plagues, Floods, Droughts, Famines & Migrations
• Intense & Destructive Warfare• Poverty & Slavery
• Specialization & Alienation• Theocracy & Despotism
AXIAL MOVEMENTS & SAGES
• Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)• Persia (Zoroaster)
• India (Buddha, Mahavira)• China (Confucius, Lao-Tzu)
• Levant (Prophets, Jesus, Mohammed)
AXIAL COMMON THEMES
• Critical (Primacy of Heavens/Cosmos)• Universal over Local (Restraint on Rulers)• Justifications for Suffering (Flawed Selves)• Compassion for Sick & Poor (Welfare)• Renunciation & Asceticism (Corruption)
• Transcendence (Otherworldly )• Ethics & Morals (“The Golden Rule”)• Meaning & Purpose of Life (Alienation)• Salvation & Redemption (Death)
DERIVED “Religious” Responses
• Rulers, Elites, Priests, Masters, and Gods• Obedience, Rules, Laws, and Commands
• Matters of Morality & Ethics• Questions of Meaning & Purpose
• Justification for Suffering • Escape from Suffering• Transcendence• Other Worldly
DERIVED “Religious” Dichotomies
• Supernatural/Natural• Metaphysical/Physical
• Heaven/Earth• Sacred/Profane• Spirit/Matter
• Religious/Secular
Matters of: “BELIEF” & “FAITH”
“Modern-World Religions” are Derivations
• “Religions” are recent development in history• “Religions” found in sedentary, agricultural,
larger-scale societies• These “religions” are derived and different
• Are not more complex or profound• Speak to different social, economic, political,
and psychological issues
Progressive Cultural-Religious Evolution
• Animism/Shamanism: “simple”• Paganism/Polytheism: “developed”• Monotheism/Universalism: “complex”
Important Considerations
• Variability Across Time and Space• No Universal Animist Worldviews
• No Universal “Religions”• All Equally Evolved• All Equally Complex
Significant Difference: Oral v. Literate
IT ALL “MAKES SENSE”