The Biological Evolution of Religious Mind and Behavior (eBook)

Wulf Schiefenhövel is professor for medical psychology and ethnomedicine at the University of Munich and head of the human ethology group at the Max-Planck-Institute in Andechs, Germany. His main research interests are human ethology and evolutionary medicine, within which he focuses on sexuality and reproduction, human birth behavior, early infancy, language and cognitive concepts as well as the genetic and oral history of Melanesian populationsEckart Voland is professor for philosophy of life sciences at the University of Giessen, Germany. His main research interests are human sociobiology and behavioral ecology. In particular he is interested in the biological evolution of social and reproductive strategies in humans. Moreover, in pursuing the project of naturalizing the human mind and its achievements, he works on the philosophical implications of evolutionary anthropology as reflected in evolutionary ethics and aesthetics.

Preface 6
Contents 8
Contributors 10
1 Introduction 12
2 Evaluating the Evolutionary Status of Religiosity and Religiousness religiousness 19
2.1 Introduction 19
2.2 Is Religiosity an Adaptation or a Non-functional By-Product of the Human Mind? 20
2.2.1 Cognition 22
2.2.2 Spirituality 23
2.2.3 Bonding 24
2.2.4 Personal Identity 25
2.2.5 Communication 25
2.2.6 Morals 26
2.2.7 Again: Is Religiosity an Adaptation, or a Non-functional By-Product of the Human Mind? 27
2.3 If Religiosity Is an Evolutionary Adaptation adaptation 29
2.3.1 Then We Can Expect that Religiosity Is Present in the Minds of Essentially All People 29
2.3.2 Then We Can Expect Special Design in Ontogenetic Development of Religiousness religiousness 29
2.3.3 Then We Can Expect Genetics of Religiosity 30
2.4 Conclusion 31
References 32
3 Gods, Gains, and Genes 35
3.1 The Challenge 35
3.2 The Seven Main Characteristics of Religion and Religiosity 36
3.3 Explanations for Religiosity The Main Contenders 38
3.4 Conditions for Adaptivity 40
3.4.1 Universality 41
3.4.2 Reproductive Success 41
3.4.3 Heredity 42
3.4.4 Realization 42
3.4.5 Selective Advantage 44
3.5 Discussion 47
3.6 (The Need for) Philosophical Reflections 49
3.6.1 Ambivalent Implications 49
3.6.2 Three Sources of Faith and Their Criticisms 50
3.6.3 ''Useful'' Means Neither ''True'' Nor ''Good'' 52
References 53
4 How Some Major Components of Religion Could Have Evolvedby Natural Selection? 60
4.1 Introduction 60
4.2 The Evolutionary Process of Natural Selection 62
4.3 Methodology 63
4.3.1 What to Study? 63
4.3.2 How to Study it? 64
4.3.3 Why Study Structural Design Features? 64
4.4 Are There Structural Design Features Embedded in Type I and Type II Religious Behavior? 65
4.4.1 Type I Religious Behavior 65
4.4.2 Type II Religious Behavior 66
4.5 Are There Structural Design Features Embedded in Religious Beliefs? 67
4.6 Are There Structural Design Features Embedded in Religious Values? 68
4.7 Are There Structural Design Features Embedded in Religious Moods and Feelings? 69
4.7.1 Moods in General 69
4.7.2 Feelings in General 69
4.7.3 Moods, Feelings, and Proximate Causality causality of Behavior 69
4.7.4 Moods, Feelings, and Phylogenetic and Cultural Adaptations 70
4.8 Evolution of Religion at the Level of the Individual 70
4.8.1 Through Phylogenetic or Cultural Adaptations 70
4.8.2 Through By-Products of Phylogenetic or Cultural Adaptations 71
4.9 Evolution of Religion at the Level of the Social In-Group 71
4.10 Conclusions 72
References 74
5 The Correlated History of Social Organization, Morality,and Religion 76
5.1 Introduction 76
5.2 A BottomUp Hierarchical Model of Human Social Evolution 77
5.3 Categorizing the History of Morality and Religion 78
5.4 An Eight-Stage Model for the Correlated History of Social Organization, Morality morality , and Religion 82
5.4.1 Nepotism and Dominance in Kin Groups (Premoral Sociality) 82
5.4.2 Mutualism and Reciprocity in Nomadic Bands (Premoral Sociality) 83
5.4.3 Persisting Rules in Hierarchical Bands (Parochial Morality morality , Prereligious Animism) 85
5.4.4 Ancestor Worship (Parochial Morality and Religion) 87
5.4.5 Fellow Citizens and Gods in Priest-Led Tribes (Parochial Morality morality and Religion) 87
5.4.6 Favored or Chief Gods in Agricultural Societies (Parochial to Universalizing Morality morality and Religion) 89
5.4.7 One World, One God, One Good (Universalizing Morality morality and Religion) 90
5.4.8 Individual Exploration of Morality morality and Religion 93
References 95
5.5 Conclusions 94
6 Is There a Particular Role for Ideational Aspects of Religionsin Human Behavioral Ecology 98
6.1 Culture and Reproductive Success: The Theory of Reynolds and Tanner 98
6.2 The Religious Occupation of the Human Mind 100
6.3 Culture, the Ideational Aspects of Religion, and Their Impact on Behavior: The Example of Infanticide 102
6.4 The Behavioral Relevance of the Ideational Aspects of Religion: The Examples of the Couvade and Early Christianity Christianity 105
6.5 Concluding Discussion 109
References 111
7 Talk and Tradition: Why the Least Interesting Componentsof Religion May Be the Most Evolutionarily Important 114
7.1 Introduction 114
7.2 What Do People Use to Distinguish Religious Behavior from Non-religious Behavior? 115
7.3 The Identifiable Effects of Religious Behavior 118
7.4 Conclusions 122
References 123
8 The Reproductive Benefits of Religious Affiliation 126
8.1 Old Game with New Rules: Pondering Reproduction 126
8.2 Religious Activity and Reproductive Advantage 127
8.3 The Religious Mind Promoting Reproductive Strategies 129
8.4 Religious Behavior as Honest Signals 131
8.5 Conclusion 133
References 134
9 The African Interregnum: The ``Where,'' ``When,'' and ``Why''of the Evolution of Religion 136
9.1 In the Levant 100,000 Years Ago 136
9.1.1 How Do We Know That the ''2nd Wave'' AMH Were More Socially Sophisticated? 137
9.1.2 Does Social Sophistication Matter? 138
9.1.3 How Does Religion Increase Social Sophistication? 139
9.2 Upper Paleolithic Religion: Every Step You Take 140
9.2.1 Ancestor Worship: Archaeological Evidence 140
9.2.2 Shamanism: Archaeological Evidence 141
9.2.3 Animal and Natural Spirits: Archaeological Evidence 142
9.2.4 Ancestor Worship, Shamanism, and Animism: Supernaturalizing Social Life 142
9.3 What Happened During the Interregnum? 143
9.3.1 ''And a Child Shall Lead Them'''' 144
9.3.2 Enhancing Ritual 145
9.4 Summary and Predictions 147
References 147
10 Explaining the Inexplicable: Traditional and Syncretistic Religiosityin Melanesia 151
10.1 Introduction 151
10.2 Animistic Universe and Deistic Entities: The Conceptual Framework of Eipo Religion 152
10.3 Kwemdina Kamathe Holy Digging Stick 154
10.4 Memnye, the Giant Earthquake Spirit 155
10.5 Religious Concepts to Understand Some of the Characteristics of the White Visitors 157
10.6 Rituals to Bring About Success and to Cure Disease 158
10.7 Naming and Behavior Taboos in the Alpine Zone 160
10.8 Initiation Rituals for Males 160
10.9 Accepting Christianity 161
10.10 The Situation in 2008 163
10.11 Discussion 166
References 170
11 Authoritarianism, Religiousness, and Conservatism: Is Obedience to Authority the Explanation for Their Clustering, Universality and Evolution? 173
11.1 The Structure of Social Attitudes 173
11.2 The Traditional Moral Values Triad 177
11.3 Causal Analysis of Social Attitudes 178
11.4 Assortative Mating for Attitudes and Beliefs Selection Versus Homogamy 179
11.5 Reproductive Fitness 181
11.6 Innate Intuitions and Moral Psychology 182
11.7 Docility and the Evolution of Obedience to Authority 182
11.8 Conclusion 185
References 185
12 Cognitive Foundations in the Development of a Religious Mind 189
12.1 Introduction 189
12.2 Agency Attributions and Folk-Psychology 190
12.2.1 God's Omniscience 191
12.2.2 God's Immortality 192
12.2.3 Afterlife Beliefs 193
12.3 Causality and Origins 195
12.3.1 Creation vs. Evolution 195
12.3.2 Wishing vs. Prayer 196
12.3.3 Religious Rituals 196
12.4 Psychological Essentialism and Dualism 197
12.4.1 Soul 197
12.5 Summary and Conclusions 199
References 200
13 Religious Belief and Neurocognitive Processes of the Self 202
13.1 The Psychological Self 202
13.2 Culture and the Self 203
13.3 Neural Mechanisms Underlying Self-Referential Processing 205
13.4 Cultural Influence on the Neural Substrates of Self-Referential Processing 206
13.5 Neural Consequences of Christian Belief on Self-Referential Processing 207
13.6 Conclusions 209
References 210
14 Neurologic Constraints on Evolutionary Theories of Religion 212
14.1 Introduction 212
14.1.1 What Is Functional Design? 213
14.1.2 How Do We Look at the Design of a Trait Such as Religiousness religiousness ? 214
14.1.3 Definition of Religiousness religiousness 214
14.2 Our Program of Research 215
14.2.1 Why Study Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD)? 215
14.3 Data from Our Studies 216
14.3.1 Study 1: Religiosity in PD Patients 216
14.3.2 Study 2: Social Action Scripts 217
14.3.3 Study 3: Memory of Religious Experiences 218
14.3.4 A Summary of Our Studies 219
14.4 Appendix 1: Social Action Script for Going to the Doctors Office 219
14.5 Appendix 2: Social Action Script for Going to a Religious Service 220
References 221
15 On Shared Psychological Mechanisms of Religiousnessand Delusional Beliefs 223
15.1 Introduction 223
15.2 On the Relationship of Religiousness religiousness with Delusional Beliefs 225
15.3 Definition of Delusion 226
15.4 Common Cognitive Mechanisms Involved in Religiousness religiousness and Delusion Formation 227
15.4.1 Agency 228
15.4.2 Reasoning 229
15.4.3 Causality 229
15.4.4 Mental State Attribution 230
15.5 Discussion 230
15.6 Conclusions and Further Directions 232
References 232
16 Cognitive Foundations of Religiosity 235
16.1 How Does Religiosity Come into Existence? 235
16.1.1 Intuitive Cognitive Patterns of Adults 236
16.1.1.1Causality 236
16.1.1.2 Hypersensible Detectors 237
16.1.1.3 Law of Similarity 237
16.1.1.4 Illusionary Correlations 237
16.1.2 Protection of Beliefs Through Cognitive Errors 238
16.1.3 Summary and Implications 240
16.2 Religious Manifestations of Intuitive Beliefs 241
16.2.1 Biological Models 241
16.2.2 Technological Models 242
16.2.3 Mystic0 Magic magic Models 242
16.2.4 Social Models 242
16.2.5 Immunization Strategies 243
16.3 Ultimate Causes for Religious Behavior 244
16.4 Conclusion 245
References 245
17 The Religious System as Adaptive: Cognitive Flexibility, Public Displays, and Acceptance 248
17.1 Introduction 248
17.2 The Religious Mind 249
17.2.1 The Interaction of Nature and Nurture: Mental Organs and Cognitive Flexibility 249
17.2.2 The Ontogeny of the Religious Mind 251
17.3 The Religious Community 252
17.3.1 On the Adaptive Value of Sharing Institutions 252
17.3.2 Supernatural Agents and Socioecological Variation 253
17.3.3 Specialists and Authorities 255
17.4 The Costly Signaling of Ritual 256
17.5 Conclusion 258
References 259
18 The Evolution of Evolutionary Theories of Religion 262
18.1 Introduction 262
18.2 Four Types of Evolution 263
18.2.1 Common Sense Understanding of Evolution 263
18.2.2 Evolution as Proceeding to Higher Levels 264
18.2.3 The Teleological Model of Evolution 268
18.2.4 The Functional Evolutionary Notion of Religion 269
18.3 Conclusion and Discussion 273
18.3.1 Religious Essence as Teaching 275
18.3.2 Religious Essence as Transcendence transcendence 276
18.3.3 Religious Essence as Religious Experience 276
References 277
19 Evolutionary Perspectives on Religion -- What They Can and WhatThey Cannot Explain (Yet) 279
19.1 Introduction 279
19.1.1 Can a Science of Religion Be Agnostic? 280
19.1.2 The Persistence of Religiosity -- A Sign of Its Truth? 280
19.1.3 Is There a Renaissance of Religion? 281
19.2 Societal Structure and the Evolution of Religion 282
19.3 Possible Approaches to Religion from an Evolutionary Perspective 283
19.3.1 The Important Distinction Between the Evolution and Derived Functions of Religiosity 283
19.3.2 Possible Evolutionary Perspectives on Religion 284
19.4 The Functionalist Fallacy of Group-Selection Theories 286
19.5 Fertility and Religiosity Now and Then 288
19.6 Why Are People So Gullible? 290
19.7 How Costly Is Religiosity? 292
19.8 The Social and Historical Contingencies of Religion 293
References 295
Author Index 296
Subject Index 304