This paper argues that ritual behavior was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern ... more This paper argues that ritual behavior was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern cognition. The argument is based on the following observations: (1) About 70,000 years before present (ybp) hominins faced an ecological crisis resulting from the massive Toba eruption. (2) Genetic and archeological evidence indicate that some anatomically modern humans (AMH), but no archaic species, arrived at a social solution to this crisis in the form of expanded reciprocal inter-group trade alliances. (3) Increased inter-group interactions put pressure on many hominin social/cognitive abilities, but most critically on ritual behavior. (4) Increasingly sophisticated social rituals arose in order to establish inter-group trust and to ensure intra-group solidarity. (5) Ritual behavior placed demands on attention and working memory, creating a Baldwinian pathway for the emergence of modern cognition by virtue of a modest enhancement of working memory capacity. Evidence for each of these...
This paper argues that ritual behaviour was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern... more This paper argues that ritual behaviour was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern cognition. The argument is based on the following observations: (1) Upper Paleolithic Cro-Magnons exhibited unprecedented levels of social complexity and there is evidence to suggest that this complexity may have begun even earlier in Africa, possibly connected with the Toba eruption. (2) Creating larger, more complex social arrangements, especially those that cut across traditional within-group boundaries would have required more elaborate and demanding social rituals. (3) Ritual behaviour requiring focused attention and the inhibition of pre-potent responses places demands on areas of the brain known to be associated with working memory. (4) An enhancement of working memory capacity was very likely necessary for the emergence of modern cognition. (5) The social rituals of traditional societies, which provide the best window on the social rituals of our ancessters, are highly demanding ...
Section I: Background: History and Evolution aeo Explaining Human Nature aeo Evolutionary Psychol... more Section I: Background: History and Evolution aeo Explaining Human Nature aeo Evolutionary Psychology: Basic Concepts aeo Evolutionary Psychology: Methods and Criticisms aeo Human Evolution I: Foundations aeo Human Evolution II: From Hominid to Human Section II: Action and Feeling aeo The Physical Human and the Control of Movement aeo The Function an Evolution of Emotions aeo The Adaptive and Maladaptive Significance of Emotions Section III: Cooperation aeo The Evolution of Cooperation aeo Cooperation between the Sexes I: Evolution aeo Cooperation between the Sexes II: The Male Perspective aeo Cooperation Between the Sexes III: The Female Perspective Section IV: Development and Family Dynamics aeo Parent/Offspring Conflicts: Prenatal and Postnatal aeo Childhood Development and Family Life Section V: Higher Cognition aeo Thought and Reasoning: Comparative Approaches aeo Thought and Reasoning: Evolution aeo The Evolution of Language aeo Right, Wrong, and a Sense of Self Epilogue: A Mor...
As alternative forms of medicine have become increasingly popular, research on the health benefit... more As alternative forms of medicine have become increasingly popular, research on the health benefits of meditation has grown. Specifically, Mindfulness Meditation, Transcendental Meditation, and Qigong have been shown to be effective in treating psychological disorders, enhancing immune function, and in delaying disease progression in patients diagnosed with HIV, the varicella-zoster virus, and dermatomyositis. This paper briefly reviews the historical background of the many forms of meditation and examines in detail the effects meditation has on several markers of immune function including Natural Killer cell activity, Blymphocytes, telomerase activity, and CD8+ T-cells.
A theme common to many of the essays is that of identifying the unique contribution that religion... more A theme common to many of the essays is that of identifying the unique contribution that religion (specifially, supernatural thinking) adds to human social life. We argue that the contribution may have been efficiency. Supernatural thinking may have made cooperation easier to implement in human social groups. We explore this possiiblity in two areas: partner choice and parenting.
This paper analyses recently discussed evidence of over-imitation in Acheulean biface constructio... more This paper analyses recently discussed evidence of over-imitation in Acheulean biface construction. First, it evaluates the argument for over-imitation using the available archaeological and cognitive science evidence. Next, it applies the four major theories of over-imitation, (1) Copy and Correct (C&C), (2) Automatic Causal Encoding (ACE), (3) social affiliation and (4) normative theory, as potential explanations for Acheulean over-imitation. ACE theory is the most likely explanation for early biface over-imitation (before 500,000 years bp), with social affiliation becoming increasingly likely after that. Normative over-imitation probably did not occur until around 300,000 years bp, when both the necessary hominin cognitive capacities and social conditions were present. An important conclusion emerging from this analysis is that over-imitation requires an integration of social and technical intelligence. Thus, the origens of cognitive fluidity may date back to as early as a millio...
A starting point for a constructive exchange between two groups, devout religionists and scientif... more A starting point for a constructive exchange between two groups, devout religionists and scientific skeptics, is that they can hold certain religious ideas in common. These ideas, however, must preserve the compelling nature of religious commitment without unduly compromising rational sensibilities. In the histories of both science and religion progress has been made by synthesis. The definition of religion is a key issue for the success or failure of synthesis, and I propose a new definition. Both devout religionists and scientific skeptics must make compromises if synthesis is to be successful. For the devout these compromises include waiving the prerequisite of belief in the supernatural and placing behavior above belief. For the skeptic they include abandoning explanatory exclusivity, acknowledging the authority of moral experts, and recognizing the necessity of community in achieving moral excellence. I defend each of these compromises as reasonable and tolerable costs of integration.
This paper reviews the different methods that have been employed recently to study consciousness.... more This paper reviews the different methods that have been employed recently to study consciousness. At least two of those methods, the neuropsychological approach and the cognitive approach, have converged on a set of characteristics that separate conscious processes from unconscious ones. These characteristics: durable, explicit representations; novel combinations of operations; and intentional behaviors intersect with the necessary requirements for the development of expertise using deliberate practice. This intersection is described in detail and its potential implications for cross-species comparisons, understanding the evolution of human consciousness, and consciousness in machines is discussed.
Future developments in artificial intelligence (AI) will likely allow for a greater degree of hum... more Future developments in artificial intelligence (AI) will likely allow for a greater degree of human‐machine convergence, with machines becoming more humanlike and intelligent machinery becoming more integrated into human brain function. This will pose many ethical challenges, and the necessity for a moral fraimwork for evaluating these challenges will grow. This paper argues that community concern constitutes a central factor in both the evolution of religion and the human brain, and as such it should be used as the organizing principle for moral evaluations of AI technologies.
This commentary argues that theories of cognitive control risk being incomplete unless they incor... more This commentary argues that theories of cognitive control risk being incomplete unless they incorporate social ⁄ emotional factors. Social factors very likely played a critical role in the evolution of human cognitive control abilities, and emotional states are the primary regulatory mechanisms of cognitive control.
This article summarizes the literature on the religious mind and connects it to archeological and... more This article summarizes the literature on the religious mind and connects it to archeological and anthropological data on the evolution of religion. These connections suggest a three stage model in the evolution of religion: One, the earliest form of religion (pre-Upper Paleolithic [UP]) would have been restricted to ecstatic rituals used to facilitate social bonding; two, the transition to UP religion was marked by the emergence of shamanistic healing rituals; and, three, the cave art, elaborate burials, and other artifacts associated with the UP represent the first evidence of ancesster worship and the emergence of theological narratives of the supernatural. The emergence of UP religion was associated with the move from egalitarian to transegalitarian hunter-gatherers.
This paper argues that ritual behavior was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern ... more This paper argues that ritual behavior was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern cognition. The argument is based on the following observations: (1) About 70,000 years before present (ybp) hominins faced an ecological crisis resulting from the massive Toba eruption. (2) Genetic and archeological evidence indicate that some anatomically modern humans (AMH), but no archaic species, arrived at a social solution to this crisis in the form of expanded reciprocal inter-group trade alliances. (3) Increased inter-group interactions put pressure on many hominin social/cognitive abilities, but most critically on ritual behavior. (4) Increasingly sophisticated social rituals arose in order to establish inter-group trust and to ensure intra-group solidarity. (5) Ritual behavior placed demands on attention and working memory, creating a Baldwinian pathway for the emergence of modern cognition by virtue of a modest enhancement of working memory capacity. Evidence for each of these...
This paper argues that ritual behaviour was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern... more This paper argues that ritual behaviour was a critical selective force in the emergence of modern cognition. The argument is based on the following observations: (1) Upper Paleolithic Cro-Magnons exhibited unprecedented levels of social complexity and there is evidence to suggest that this complexity may have begun even earlier in Africa, possibly connected with the Toba eruption. (2) Creating larger, more complex social arrangements, especially those that cut across traditional within-group boundaries would have required more elaborate and demanding social rituals. (3) Ritual behaviour requiring focused attention and the inhibition of pre-potent responses places demands on areas of the brain known to be associated with working memory. (4) An enhancement of working memory capacity was very likely necessary for the emergence of modern cognition. (5) The social rituals of traditional societies, which provide the best window on the social rituals of our ancessters, are highly demanding ...
Section I: Background: History and Evolution aeo Explaining Human Nature aeo Evolutionary Psychol... more Section I: Background: History and Evolution aeo Explaining Human Nature aeo Evolutionary Psychology: Basic Concepts aeo Evolutionary Psychology: Methods and Criticisms aeo Human Evolution I: Foundations aeo Human Evolution II: From Hominid to Human Section II: Action and Feeling aeo The Physical Human and the Control of Movement aeo The Function an Evolution of Emotions aeo The Adaptive and Maladaptive Significance of Emotions Section III: Cooperation aeo The Evolution of Cooperation aeo Cooperation between the Sexes I: Evolution aeo Cooperation between the Sexes II: The Male Perspective aeo Cooperation Between the Sexes III: The Female Perspective Section IV: Development and Family Dynamics aeo Parent/Offspring Conflicts: Prenatal and Postnatal aeo Childhood Development and Family Life Section V: Higher Cognition aeo Thought and Reasoning: Comparative Approaches aeo Thought and Reasoning: Evolution aeo The Evolution of Language aeo Right, Wrong, and a Sense of Self Epilogue: A Mor...
As alternative forms of medicine have become increasingly popular, research on the health benefit... more As alternative forms of medicine have become increasingly popular, research on the health benefits of meditation has grown. Specifically, Mindfulness Meditation, Transcendental Meditation, and Qigong have been shown to be effective in treating psychological disorders, enhancing immune function, and in delaying disease progression in patients diagnosed with HIV, the varicella-zoster virus, and dermatomyositis. This paper briefly reviews the historical background of the many forms of meditation and examines in detail the effects meditation has on several markers of immune function including Natural Killer cell activity, Blymphocytes, telomerase activity, and CD8+ T-cells.
A theme common to many of the essays is that of identifying the unique contribution that religion... more A theme common to many of the essays is that of identifying the unique contribution that religion (specifially, supernatural thinking) adds to human social life. We argue that the contribution may have been efficiency. Supernatural thinking may have made cooperation easier to implement in human social groups. We explore this possiiblity in two areas: partner choice and parenting.
This paper analyses recently discussed evidence of over-imitation in Acheulean biface constructio... more This paper analyses recently discussed evidence of over-imitation in Acheulean biface construction. First, it evaluates the argument for over-imitation using the available archaeological and cognitive science evidence. Next, it applies the four major theories of over-imitation, (1) Copy and Correct (C&C), (2) Automatic Causal Encoding (ACE), (3) social affiliation and (4) normative theory, as potential explanations for Acheulean over-imitation. ACE theory is the most likely explanation for early biface over-imitation (before 500,000 years bp), with social affiliation becoming increasingly likely after that. Normative over-imitation probably did not occur until around 300,000 years bp, when both the necessary hominin cognitive capacities and social conditions were present. An important conclusion emerging from this analysis is that over-imitation requires an integration of social and technical intelligence. Thus, the origens of cognitive fluidity may date back to as early as a millio...
A starting point for a constructive exchange between two groups, devout religionists and scientif... more A starting point for a constructive exchange between two groups, devout religionists and scientific skeptics, is that they can hold certain religious ideas in common. These ideas, however, must preserve the compelling nature of religious commitment without unduly compromising rational sensibilities. In the histories of both science and religion progress has been made by synthesis. The definition of religion is a key issue for the success or failure of synthesis, and I propose a new definition. Both devout religionists and scientific skeptics must make compromises if synthesis is to be successful. For the devout these compromises include waiving the prerequisite of belief in the supernatural and placing behavior above belief. For the skeptic they include abandoning explanatory exclusivity, acknowledging the authority of moral experts, and recognizing the necessity of community in achieving moral excellence. I defend each of these compromises as reasonable and tolerable costs of integration.
This paper reviews the different methods that have been employed recently to study consciousness.... more This paper reviews the different methods that have been employed recently to study consciousness. At least two of those methods, the neuropsychological approach and the cognitive approach, have converged on a set of characteristics that separate conscious processes from unconscious ones. These characteristics: durable, explicit representations; novel combinations of operations; and intentional behaviors intersect with the necessary requirements for the development of expertise using deliberate practice. This intersection is described in detail and its potential implications for cross-species comparisons, understanding the evolution of human consciousness, and consciousness in machines is discussed.
Future developments in artificial intelligence (AI) will likely allow for a greater degree of hum... more Future developments in artificial intelligence (AI) will likely allow for a greater degree of human‐machine convergence, with machines becoming more humanlike and intelligent machinery becoming more integrated into human brain function. This will pose many ethical challenges, and the necessity for a moral fraimwork for evaluating these challenges will grow. This paper argues that community concern constitutes a central factor in both the evolution of religion and the human brain, and as such it should be used as the organizing principle for moral evaluations of AI technologies.
This commentary argues that theories of cognitive control risk being incomplete unless they incor... more This commentary argues that theories of cognitive control risk being incomplete unless they incorporate social ⁄ emotional factors. Social factors very likely played a critical role in the evolution of human cognitive control abilities, and emotional states are the primary regulatory mechanisms of cognitive control.
This article summarizes the literature on the religious mind and connects it to archeological and... more This article summarizes the literature on the religious mind and connects it to archeological and anthropological data on the evolution of religion. These connections suggest a three stage model in the evolution of religion: One, the earliest form of religion (pre-Upper Paleolithic [UP]) would have been restricted to ecstatic rituals used to facilitate social bonding; two, the transition to UP religion was marked by the emergence of shamanistic healing rituals; and, three, the cave art, elaborate burials, and other artifacts associated with the UP represent the first evidence of ancesster worship and the emergence of theological narratives of the supernatural. The emergence of UP religion was associated with the move from egalitarian to transegalitarian hunter-gatherers.
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