Supernatural as Natural A Biocultural

Supernatural as Naturalexamines ways in which our religious beliefs and experiences are products of our biological make-up. This book takes as its fundamental starting point the insight that humans are animals whose primary means of adapting to the world is culture, including religion.

Michael Winkelman, Ph.D. (University of California-Irvine), M.P.H. (University of Arizona) is an Associate Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. He served as President of the Anthropology of Consciousness section of the American Anthropological Association, as was the founding President of its Anthropology of Religion Section. His principal publications on shamanism include Shamans, Priests and Witches (1992) and Shamanism (2000). He has also addressed the role of psychedelic medicines in shamanism in his co-edited Psychedelic Medicine.

John Baker, Dr. Phil. (Universität Hamburg, Germany) is a Professor of Anthropology at Moorpark College. He has authored several papers on the constructive use of altered states of consciousness and on the history and ritual uses of psychoactive substances. He is presently serving as the President of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness.

Supernatural as Natural: A Biocultural Approach to Religion
Preface
Introduction
Religion's Family Resemblances
Religion, Spirituality, and Religiosity
Overview of Book
Anthropology and the Study of Religion
Introduction to the Anthropological Study of Religion
Western Perspectives on Religion
The Development of Anthropological Approaches to Religion
The Four-Field Approach of Anthropology
Conclusion: The Biocultural Approach to the Study of Religiosity
Our World and How We Know It
Introduction
Science, Religion, and the Universe
Mysticism as Science
Conclusions: Comparing Science and Religion
Consciousness and Spiritual Experiences
Opening vignette: Visionary Spiritual Experiences and the Origins of Major Religious Traditions
Introduction
What is Consciousness?
The Biological Bases of Spiritual Consciousness: The Integrative Mode of Consciousness
Origins of Religious Experiences: Natural Induction of the Integrative Mode of Consciousness
Adaptive Aspects of the Integrative Mode of Consciousness
Conclusion: Religious Experience as Personal Experience of Biology
Appendix: Assessing Mystical Experiences/Hood's Mysticism Scale
Animal Rituals and the Roots of Religiosity
Introduction
Ritual in the Animal World What are Rituals?
The Triune Brain and Ritual Behavior Animal Rituals The Evolution of Ritual Behaviors
Conclusions: The Animal Roots of Human Ritual Activity
The Origins of Shamanism and the Flowering of Religiosity
Introduction
Evidence for the Emergence of New Forms of Ritual What are Shamans?
The Evolutionary Origins of Spiritual Experiences Psilocybin-Containing Mushrooms as Sources of Spiritual Experiences
The Middle/Upper Paleolithic Transition and Human Cultural Evolution Human Cognitive Evolution
The Emergence of Specialized Intelligences "Complex Hunter-Gatherer Type Religions"
The Rise of Ancestor Cults and Priests
Conclusions
Origins and Functions of Religious Healing Introduction
Religious Healing as a Cultural Universal
The Co-Evolution of Healing and Religiosity Shamanism as a Foundation for Religious Healing Adaptations Religious Adaptations in Healing Processes
Conclusions: Shamanic Healing and the Holistic Imperative
Religion and Cognition
How Religion Shapes How We Think Introduction
Religious Ideas and the Structure of the Universe Animism
The Belief in Spirit Beings Myth and the Universe Substantive Beliefs Conclusions
Spirit Concepts as Indigenous Psychologies
Religion and Emotions
Introduction Bronislav Malinowski
The Emotional Adaptiveness of Magic and Religion Sigmund Freud and the Roles of the Unconscious in Religion Religion, Sex, and Gender
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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Supernatural as Natural A Biocultural Approach to Religion

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials