Evolutionary Explanations of Religion: Supernatural Beliefs and Ideologies

1. Religions exapt supernatural beliefs Konrad Talmont-Kaminski Marie Curie-Sklodowska University

2. Background • Philosopher of mind and science • Working with cognitive psychologists & evolutionary explanations of human behaviour • Research carried out at Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research

3. Plan • Evolutionary explanations of religion • By-products: Religion and the supernatural • Group adaptations: Religion and ideology • Exaptation of existing cognitive propensities • Religion as supernatural ideology

4. Evolution of religion • Evolutionary explanations of religion • Understanding religion as the effect of evolutionary change • Genetic evolution – cognitive science of religion • Cultural evolution • Using evolutionary theory to explain religion • Religion as adaptation – group cohesion • Religion as ancestral trait • Religion as by-product – cognitive biases

5. Religion as by-product • Cognitive science of religion (Atran, Boyer, Barrett, etc.) • Explains religion as cognitive by-product • Based upon evolutionary psychology • Focussed on religious beliefs • Examples • Hypersensitive Agent Detection Device (Barrett) • Minimally counter-intuitive concepts (Boyer) • Problem (for the account) • Does not clearly distinguish religion from other supernatural beliefs

6. Supernatural as by-product • ‘Cognitive science of the supernatural’ • Genetically based evolution of cognitive mechanisms • Cognitive factors under-determine supernatural content • Problem (for the phenomenon) • Supernatural beliefs highly unstable • Beliefs that are more stable will dominate

7. Religion as adaptation • Group adaptation account (D.S. Wilson) • Explains religion as motivating in-group co-operation • Arising out of work on altruism • Focussed on function of religious belief systems • Examples • Rules governing Calvinist communities • Jain mystics as community’s morality police • Problem (for the account) • Does not clearly distinguish religions from other ideologies

8. Ideologies as adaptation • Group adaptation account of ideology • Cultural evolution of belief systems • Ideologies fail to live up to promises • Problem (for the phenomenon) • Ideologies highly unstable • Ideologies that are more stable will dominate

9. The problems The accounts The phenomena On by-product account religion insufficiently distinguished from other supernatural beliefs On adaptation account religion insufficiently distinguished from other ideologies Contradictory accounts? Most supernatural beliefs highly unstable Most ideologies highly unstable Combine them?

10. Basic conception Ideology Supernatural Cognitive by-product Group selection

11. Exaptation • Putting existing traits to new uses • Put forward by Gould • Example • Feathers in dinosaurs and birds • Hands • Use with supernatural beliefs • Individual beliefs • Cognitive mechanisms

12. Supernatural ideology • Mutual support • Supernatural beliefs plausible • Help to motivate ideology • Help to motivate practices • Ideology functional • Makes beliefs functional and thereby stable

13. Conclusions • Religion a complex phenomenon • Cultural aspects • Biological aspects • Account only deals with some aspects of it • Potentially extendible by considering further aspects • Connection between testability and functionality of beliefs • Role of religious organisations in stabilising ideology

14. Thank you Konrad Talmont-Kaminski konrad@talmont.comhttp://deisidaimon.wordpress.com