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The Cognitive Science of Religion

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The Cognitive Science of Religion Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Ústav religionistiky Martin Lang The Cognitive Science of Religion Connecting the Humanities and the Sciences in the Study of Ritual Practice, Prosociality, and Anxiety Dizertační práce Školitel: Mgr. Aleš Chalupa, Ph.D. Brno 2016 Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto dizertační práci vypracoval samostatně s využitím uvedených pramenů a literatury. ……………………………………… Mgr. Martin Lang V Brně dne 22. září 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS CZECH ABSTRACT I ENGLISH ABSTRACT II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III PREFACE IV INTRODUCTION - 1 - THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF RELIGION - 4 - Two Cultures and the Divide between the Humanities and the Sciences - 4 - CSR and Consilience - 7 - CSR and the Mechanistic Approach - 12 - EFFECTS OF RELIGION AND RITUAL ON PROSOCIALITY - 18 - RELIGION AND PROSOCIALITY - 23 - Introduction - 23 - The Religious Congruence Fallacy - 25 - What Religious People Say They Do - 26 - What Religious People Actually Do - 28 - Religion as Prime - 31 - Belief and Practice - 35 - Future Directions - 37 - Summary - 38 - MUSIC AS A SACRED CUE? EFFECTS OF RELIGIOUS MUSIC ON MORAL BEHAVIOR - 40 - Abstract - 40 - Introduction - 40 - Materials and Methods - 44 - Results - 50 - Discussion - 62 - LOST IN THE RHYTHM: EFFECTS OF RHYTHM ON SUBSEQUENT INTERPERSONAL COORDINATION - 68 - Abstract - 68 - Introduction - 68 - Materials and Methods - 70 - Results - 74 - Discussion - 79 - Appendix - 83 - EFFECTS OF RITUAL BEHAVIOR ON ANXIETY - 84 - EFFECTS OF ANXIETY ON SPONTANEOUS RITUALIZED BEHAVIOR - 88 - Summary - 88 - Results - 89 - Discussion - 95 - Experimental Procedures - 98 - ANXIETY AND RITUALIZATION: CAN ATTENTION DISCRIMINATE COMPULSION FROM ROUTINE? - 100 - DISCUSSION - 103 - REFERENCES - 115 - SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL - 145 - CZECH ABSTRACT Náboženství je tradičním tématem mnohých humanitních a sociálních věd, jež při jeho studiu nabízí různorodé perspektivy a metodologické přístupy. Jelikož většina religionistů pracuje na humanitních fakultách, tak tradičními přístupy ve studiu náboženství jsou interpretace a komparace různých náboženských jevů, aniž by existovala snaha tyto jevy vysvětlit pomocí teorií dokumentujících obecné trendy v náboženském myšlení a jednání. Když však do studia náboženství vstoupily se svým důrazem na kauzální vysvětlení přírodovědné proudy, začaly vznikat dva epistemologicky a ontologicky neslučitelné přístupy ke studiu náboženství, které produkují vzájemně nekompatibilní vědění. V předložené dizertaci tuto situaci kritizuji a nabízím řešení v podobě kognitivní vědy o náboženství, která se snaží sjednotit humanitní a přírodní vědy v jejich přístupu ke studiu náboženství. Nejprve popisuji historické a epistemologické příčiny rozdílů mezi oběma přístupy, přičemž se soustředím na řešení, která navrhuje kognitivní religionistika a princip konsilience. Dále navrhuji mechanistický přístup jako epistemologický nástroj, který umožňuje překládat koncepty mez vědami na různých úrovních komplexity, a nabízí tedy způsob jak překlenout propast mez přírodními a humanitními vědami. V druhé kapitole se pak věnuji konkrétní aplikaci přístupu kognitivní religionistiky na teorii Émila Durkheima o náboženství jako instituci sdružující lidi do jednotných společenství. Ve třech předložených studiích dokumentuji různé mechanismy, jež jsou základem jevů popsaných Durkheimem. Další kapitola pak aplikuje stejný přístup na studium teorie o magických rituálech a úzkosti, která byla předložena Bronislawem Malinowským. Opět prezentuji své dvě originální studie na toto téma, přičemž jedna z nich zkoumá efekty úzkosti na rituální chování a druhá možné kognitivní mechanismy podmiňující tyto efekty. V poslední kapitole diskutuji výsledky těchto experimentů a identifikuji několik problémů, kterým současná kognitivní věda o náboženství čelí. Jako řešení těchto problémů pak na závěr nabízím kontextuální, proximátní, a ultimátní mechanistické analýzy, které mohou být implementovány v budoucích studiích. Klíčová slova: náboženství, kognitivní věda o náboženství, propast mezi humanitními a přírodními vědami, konsilience, mechanistický přístup, Émile Durkheim, prosocialita, symbol, kolektivní vzrušení, hudba, rytmus, synchronizace, Bronislaw Malinowski, magické rituály, úzkost, ritualizované chování, proximátní and ultimátní vysvětlení i ENGLISH ABSTRACT Religion has traditionally been one of the core topics for multiple humanistic and social scientific disciplines, affording diverse perspectives and methodological approaches. Based in humanistic departments, Religious Studies scholars mostly focus on an interpretation and comparison of various religious phenomena without an attempt to look for explanations generalizing their findings across different religions. However, when the life sciences entered the study of religion, their emphasis on generalizations and causal explanations has created an aggregation of theories that are epistemologically and ontologically incompatible with the humanistic theories. In this dissertation, I argue that the current situation hinders progress in the study of religion and that the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) offers a possible unifying framework that may bridge the gap between the humanities and the sciences. First, the roots of this gap are described with a particular emphasis on the principle of consilience and solutions devised by CSR scholars. Next, the mechanistic approach is advocated as an epistemological tool allowing to translate concepts between academic disciplines that are on different complexity levels, whereby the approach affords to connect the humanities and the sciences. In the second chapter, I apply the CSR methodology on Émile Durkheim’s theory of religion as a social glue and present my three original scientific studies that demonstrate underlying mechanisms of phenomena asserted by Durkheim. The next chapter emulates the previous approach and focuses on the theory of Bronislaw Malinowski that suggest a relationship between magical rituals and anxiety. Again, I present my two original studies illuminating mechanisms behind phenomena assumed by Malinowski: one on the effects of anxiety on spontaneous ritual behavior, and one on possible cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects. Finally, in the last chapter, I discuss the results of these experimental studies and identify peculiar difficulties in the CSR approach. As a remedy for these difficulties, I offer contextualized, proximate, and ultimate mechanistic analyses that can be implemented in future studies. Key words: religion, Cognitive Science of Religion, sciences-humanities divide, consilience, mechanistic approach, Émile Durkheim, prosociality, symbol, collective effervescence, music, rhythm, synchrony, Bronislaw Malinowski, magical rituals, anxiety, ritualized behavior, proximate and ultimate explanations ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my doctoral supervisor Aleš Chalupa for pushing forward the CSR approach at our department, whereby he inspired many young and talented people to pursue this exciting path. Without his contribution and support, this dissertation would have never originated. I am also immensely grateful to Dimitris Xygalatas, the former director of LEVYNA, who introduced me to experimental approach, provided guidance in designing and reporting experiments, and shared all the joy and frustration of scientific investigation that every experimentalist is overly familiar with. My further thanks go to all co-authors on the publications that are part of this dissertation. They all helped me to pursue my interests by offering always new research avenues that I eagerly explored, not to mention all their hard work with helping to design and conduct experiments. Specifically, I thank Radek Kundt for teaching me how to argue more carefully; Jan Krátký for a joint interest in stressing people and long evening discussions about rituals; and John Shaver for infecting me with his passion for field work. Furthermore, I would like to thank the whole LEVYNA team for the great intellectual environment that they created in our office. And, above all, I am also grateful to all the aforementioned people for their friendship that made our cooperation very enjoyable. Last but not least, I wish to thank my family for supporting me during the long journey that my doctorate became. My beloved wife Agata was always there for me, despite the fact that it often meant spending countless hours and nights working next to each other. Even in our free time, she always provided a “reality check” of my abstract ideas, discussing them with a healthy dose of skepticism, yet sharing the enthusiasm for science and understanding human behavior. I am extremely grateful that Agata helped me to pursue the career I chose. iii PREFACE The topics investigated in this dissertation are by their very nature complex and multi-layered, and as such require a multi-disciplinary exploration. This exploration entails studying scientific literature ranging from physics, over neuroscience, to sociology; working in a field to collect contextualized data; designing and conducting experiments; using advanced scientific equipment to measure behavioral and physiological processes; programming algorithms to extract and process the obtained physiological signals; performing statistical analyses to produce meaningful results; and drafting papers to be submitted in scientific journals. Although I have attempted to master all those skills, it would be impossible to conduct all the presented research without interdisciplinary cooperation and hard team-work.
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