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Chapter5
The supernatural asinnate
cognitive operators
Michael J.Winkelman
This chapter proposes a naturalised understanding of supernatural cognition
and experiences in terms of the innate modular structures and processes of
the human brain. Contemporary perspectives in the cognitive science of reli-
gion (Clements, 2017 ) propose that supernatural beliefs re ect manifestations
of fundamental aspects of our mental processes, such as innate intelligences for
self- awareness and the introjection of the identities and thoughts of others that
provide the basis for a supernatural “other.” This chapter examines how innate
intelligences related to representation of self, others, and animals play founda-
tional roles in the construction of supernatural experiences and beliefs.
A central feature of supernatural experiences is that of an “other,” a sen-
tient being assuming a variety of forms, from a sentient universe to various
personalised nature spirits, animals, persons, ancestors, angels, gods and other
entities. Most supernatural experiences are intrinsically entwined with a per-
ception of an “other” conceptualised in spiritual terms, but also as similar
to human qualities. The common types of supernatural experiences re ect
variations in humans’ basic capabilities for knowing and experiencing the self
in relation to “others.”
For instance, in foraging societies the shaman dominates and incorporates
spirit animal “others” into the powers of the self, while the adherents of com-
plex religions submit themselves to the “other” in a fatherly or motherly god
with whom they identify. Self- features are manifested in the shaman’s out-
of- body or soul ight experience of dislocation of the experiential self from
the physical body. Self and other identity is central to the possessed person’s
manifestations of a distinctly di erent personality in a possessing entity. These
alternative self- forms are experienced as autonomous agents and may ful l
attachment functions for psychological stability and social integration of the
person. Many meditative forms of consciousness are similarly conceptualised
in terms of di erent forms of self- reference such as “no- self,” a personal self,
a transcendent self, participating self and observing self (see Winkelman, 2010 ,
2016 ).
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The final version of the article is available in the book
The Supernatural after the Neuroturn
90 Michael J.Winkelman
These conceptualisations of supernatural experiences in terms of self and
other re ect structural aspects of our evolved psychology, particularly features
selected to enhance our capacity to adapt to the social environment.
Innate brain functions as the basis of the supernatural
The frameworks of evolutionary psychology and the cognitive science of
religion (see Atran, 2006 ; Barrett, 2000 ; Boyer, 2001 , 2017 ; Clements, 2017 ;
Pyysi ä inen, 2009 ) illustrate that functions of innate brain mechanisms pro-
vide the underlying structures for the universal distribution of supernatural
experiences and beliefs. Typical features of beliefs regarding spirits re ect innate
operators or innate modules designed to optimise our adaptation to the most
important factor a ect human survival— the social environment.
Cross- cultural similarities in the forms of cognition reveal neurognostic
structures, neurobiological structures of knowing that provide the universal
aspects of the human brain/ mind (Laughlin, McManus, & d’Aquili, 1992 ). These
inherent knowledge structures of the organism mediate the organisation of
experience into certain forms. This concept of innate structures of thought and
consciousness of modern cognitive science was long preceeded in the concept
of archetype, an ancient mode of expression of experiences from the collective
unconscious. This concept of archetype represents the innate ways in which
our mental hardware perceives reality as a consequence of innate structures for
representing universal aspects of human experiences. These innate dispositions
of all human minds, our collective unconscious, provide the impulses that are
represented in diverse supernatural experiences from the perceptions of spirits
and invisible powers to sacred symbols and myths (summarised from Winkelman
and Baker, 2015 ; a lso se e St ev en s, 1986 , 2003 ).
Evolutionary psychology proposes a similar concept in the notion of a modu-
larity to the brain (Carruthers & Chamberlain, 2000 ) that involves specialised
innate capacities for speci c functions. These intelligences, modules and
operators are dedicated automatic processors that function independently and
unconsciously to provide speci c cognitive responses (Gardner, 1983 , 2000 ),
including supernatural experiences (d’Aquili & Newberg, 1999 ; Ernandes,
2013 ). Humans’ innate operators and innate intelligences (see Gardner, 2000 )
are ancient adaptations that provide unconscious functional processing modules
for speci c operations, such as detecting an agent, perceiving the thoughts of
social others, recognising animal species, imitative interpretation of behaviours,
etc. Our innate evolved psychology that underlies our experiences of the super-
natural, speci cally spirits, involves interpretative structures for adaptations for
anticipating and responding to the most important factors a ecting human
survival— other humans. These innate structures provide the ability to make
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Innate cognitive operators 91
inferences about the internal dispositions of other members of our species—
their perceptions, thoughts, intentions, roles, personalities, evaluations and
emotions.
Gardner ( 2000 , p. 57) proposed ten basic innate intelligences re ecting
biopsychosocial potentials of humans (see Table5.1 ). These innate capacities
are di erentially developed as a function of individual di erences in socialisa-
tion and environmental in uences. Most of these innate intelligences, products
of our evolved psychology, provide the underlying basis for our perception of a
supernatural world, particularly spirits. With the apparent exception of logical-
mathematical reasoning, all of the principal intelligences of Gardner are directly
relevant to humans’ supernatural conceptualisations.
Innate intelligences in supernatural experiences
Evolutionary psychology explains beliefs regarding supernatural entities as the
result of biological adaptations for enhanced social function (see Carruthers
& Chamberlain, 2000 ; Ba rk ow, Cos mid es & Toob y, 1992 ; Confer etal., 2010 ).
These adaptations of the human mind are manifested in a modular structure of
separate innate processes (modules or operators) that perform specialised cog-
nitive functions. Challenges faced by our ancestors led to natural selection for
specialised solutions for problems in hardwired systems for automatic infor-
mation processing, providing solutions to problems regularly encountered.
Table5.1 Gardner’s Innate Intelligences and Supernatural Concepts
Innate Intelligence Supernatural Concepts Produced
Intrapersonal— capacity for examining one’s
own mind to regulate emotions and
social relations
Souls, Disembodied spirits
Interpersonal (social)— a “theory of mind”
used to infer the mental states of others
Spirit communication, divination, sacred
knowledge
Language/ symbolism Unseen reality, divinatory meanings
Logical- mathematical reasoning Unknown/ No Relationship
Bodily- kinesthetic (mimesis) Ritual enactment (imitative magic)
Musical Psychophysiological effects on endorphin
and opioid responses
Spatial Out- of- body experience
Naturalist, a capacity recognition and
classi cation of animal species
Animal identities and powers and animal
clan totems
Spiritual, a desire to engage spiritual, noetic
and transcendent experiences
Spirit beliefs, Animism
Existential intelligence, concerned with
cosmic issues, the meaning of life and
death
Mythology, pantheons
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92 Michael J.Winkelman
These specialised modular thought operators are prominently exhibited in the
primate’s specialised reasoning and cognitive functions for managing social life
and interpersonal relationships (Cummings & Allen, 1998 ). Prominent among
these abilities are reasoning about social others, hierarchies, coalition relations
and strategies for manipulating “others” using a “theory of mind” to infer the
motives, thoughts, beliefs and intended behaviours.
Hyperactive agency detection
The supernatural experience of a spiritual essence to all nature— the concept of
animism— is widely considered to be the core of the oldest and most basic of
humanity’s supernatural beliefs that is still widely manifested in thinking today
(Guthrie, 2008 ). The belief in the spirit world is a cultural universal that results
from the interaction of several basic brain operators (Boyer, 2001 ). Barrett
( 2000 ) proposed that supernatural beliefs re ect a hyperactive agency detective
system (HADD) that projects the assumption of an active agent responsible
for events, especially unexplained phenomena. Animacy is a universal human
tendency because we acquired dispositions for a hyper- sensitivity to the pos-
sible presence of a predator. We are hyper- tuned to detect an intentional agent
because with overly sensitive agency detection, erroneous responses have low
costs in comparison to failure to detect a predator. Perception of animate entities
is a result of an automatic tendency to project the interpretation of an active
agent responsible for ambiguous events. Our chimpanzee cousins undoubt-
edly experience this ancient animistic awareness of some other, a sentience
within nature with awareness and purpose. Their ritualised charging displays
an aggressive energy towards unseen predators in the darkness, the unperceived
but clearly cognised threats beyond direct perception (see Winkelman, 2010 ).
This projection of agency, an “unseen other,” was augmented across hominin
evolution with assumptions regarding the mental states and intentions of this
other, modelling its cognitive states through reference to previous experience,
and consequently, inevitably projecting our human personal and cognitive
dynamics into the interpretation of the universe. Our experiences of nature are
animated by the projections of the characteristics of our own psychodynamics,
making our own qualities and internal dynamics the framework for the inter-
pretation of the unknown. Human evolution expanded the ancient innate
capacity for agency detection with our proclivity for interpretation of the
social worlds projected together with our interpersonal and intrapersonal
intelligences, anthropomorphising nature with our own cognitive, social and
emotional characteristics. The universal human tendency for spirit perceptions
involves attribution of human cognitive, personal and social qualities. This is
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Innate cognitive operators 93
the foundation of human experience of the supernatural, something unseen
but perceived to have mental capacities like our own.
The social other:Theory of mind
Humans’ assumptions of spirits utilise our innate capacities for mental projec-
tion derived from our social intelligence— the ability to infer the mental states
of other members of the species and to use that information as a basis to predict
their behaviour. The need for cooperation among humans makes knowledge
of their mental states essential; this need led to selection for a “theory of mind”
that infers others’ intentions (goals), beliefs, evaluations and likely behaviours
(Boyer, 2017 ). This intuitive “theory of mind” derives from the attribution of
our own mental states to others, modelling others’ thoughts and behaviours
based on one’s own capacities.
Gardner ( 2000 ) discussed this capacity to infer mental states and intentions
of others in terms of an innate intrapersonal intelligence, a social psycho-
logical operator for the internalisation of the identities of others. Interpersonal
intelligence provides a key capacity necessary for human social behaviour, the
assumptions of the perspectives and identity of others in society. Collective
human behaviour and culture requires that individuals internalise the identi -
cation of social others, especially dominant others.
These processes fundamental to normal human socialisation and social iden-
tity provide a basis for the internalisation of numerous forms of the “other,”
including adopting for our own self the models and perspectives provided in
religious beliefs. Spirits are typically conceptualised as being like humans with
minds, desires and beliefs and acting to carry out speci c intentions that re ect
processes derived from the intuitive biogenetic frameworks of human thoughts
(Winkelman, 2004 ).
Our brains are hardwired to internalise the other through innate processes
for detecting the intentions of others’ behaviours. Gardner discussed this
innate intelligence as bodily- kinaesthetic intelligence. This is provided by a
process of special (mirror) neurons that re both when a person performs an
action, as well as when they perceive another person doing the same action
(see Garrels, 2005 , 2011 for review). This capability is provided by a mimetic
operator that extended the most basic of communicative operators found
across species, the isopraxic operator, which leads animals to produce the
same pattern of behaviour as the other animals of a group. These capacities
are fundamental for recognising other members of a species, an awareness that
some “other” is like one’s self. In humans this isopraxic operator is extended
in mimesis through the operation of mirror neurons.
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94 Michael J.Winkelman
Because of these innate features of our social and psychological toolkit, we
are not only able to produce a model of the cognitive and emotional world of
others, but also to relate to imagined entities who are not physically present.
d’Aquili and Newberg ( 1999 ) characterise the innate capacities underlying reli-
gious experiences as derived from conceptual operators that provide default
processing capacities of the mind (d’Aquili & Newberg, 1999 ). Newberg and
d’Aquili ( 2001 ) characterise the neuropsychological mechanisms of super-
natural interpretations as primarily involving the operations of a causal oper-
ator and a holistic operator. The causal operator (like the HADD) postulates
super sensible forces and powers as causal mechanisms when direct evidence
is lacking. The holistic operator projects an integrated whole on to reality that
provides an experience of the absolute and transcendent.
Our human tendencies to construct imagined worlds of human- like
entities with stories and purposes are the consequence of our great depend-
ence on social relations (Boyer, 2017 ). We easily enter into an internal dia-
logue, imagining interactions with others, physical and imagined, mentally and
emotionally experiencing a variety of imagined interpersonal relations with
them to ful l our needs. Boyer proposes that we have an intuitive theory of
mind and an over- developed social intelligence because of the importance of
knowing what other humans are thinking and intending to do. Imagining pos-
sible scenarios of future interactions and possible reactions provides a kind of
preparation for future situations. Speculating on the thoughts of others and
imaging what they will say and do is part of making inferences about future
interactions. Such scenario construction is an adaptation for complex social
interactions and preparation for performing them.
Supernatural assumptions as co- option of the hierarchical
operator
Ernandes and Giammanco ( 1998 ) propose that brain functions associated with
dominance and submission behaviours provide brain operators that underlies
supernatural beliefs involving submissive behaviours to deities characterised as
“immense power beings.” These behaviours have homologies with submissive
behaviours in primates, including lowering one’s head to dominant individuals
and prostrating oneself on the ground. These ritualised displays of submissive
behaviours present recognition of the rank of dominant individuals and reduce
aggression and violence in the group. Submissive behaviours are a central fea-
ture of primate social life and are managed by what MacLean ( 1990 ) called the
R- complex, the ancient behavioural brain system. Ernandes and Giammanco
propose that this concept of an “immense power being” has its origin in the
R- complex, which projects an unconscious concept of a dominant “other” into
the universe.
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Innate cognitive operators 95
Since a primary function of the paleomammalian brain is to inhibit the
functions of the R- complex, they suggest that emergence of this idea of a
hierarchical being could have resulted from a trauma that reduced inhibition
of the R- complex. They postulate this trauma resulted from the neocortex’s
recognition of mortality and death, a perception of a threat that was trans-
mitted to the emotional centres of the paleomammalian brain. This shock
resulted in a loss of inhibition of the R- complex structures, with the resulting
reduction in repression of R- complex hierarchy structures allowing their
functions to intrude into consciousness. Since the hierarchy structures of
the R- complex views violence as perpetrated by dominant individuals, it
postulated that the cause of death was the violence exercised by an “immense
power being.” These projected perceptions were then conceptualised by the
neocortex as this “immense power being.” “The lack of integration of the
triune brain’s functions causes the individual to sense something extraneous
inside his thoughts that is independent of his will” (Ernandes & Giammanco,
1998 , p.193).
This deregulation of top- down brain control and emergence of more ancient
cognitive processes is also a basic dynamic of the alteration of consciousness,
providing additional innate mechanisms by which humans naturally and spon-
taneously, or through substances or ritual processes, experience the supernat-
ural. Ernandes and Giammanco proposed that ritual behaviours increase the
e ectiveness of the serotonergic nervous system and enhance the operation
of the endogenous opioid system and its various social bonding e ects. With
enhanced serotonergic functioning, mammalian bonding is emphasised over the
individualistic tendencies of the R- complex, providing a sense of belongingness
and well- being attributed to the rituals directed to the “immense power being.”
Supernatural concepts as integrated modular
structures
The operation of modules and operators in the production of religious behav-
iour is not a consequence of their independent and separate function, but rather
from their combination to create a general model that links various elements
of reality together to provide general explanatory models of how the universe
operates (Ernandes, 2013 ). These combinations of innate intelligences are key
aspects of how supernatural experiences contributed to new forms of intelli-
gence, constituting symbols derived from the integration of operations from
di erent cognitive modules (Winkelman, 2010 ). Supernatural conceptualisations
are characterised by the combination and integrative functioning of these innate
modules, mingling the individual functions of various modules (for example
animals that have human mental properties or humans that have animal qual-
ities; see Winkelman, 2010 ). Religious concepts of supernatural agency and
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96 Michael J.Winkelman
causation re ect uses of a number of innate psychological systems that are
linked together in ways that provided adaptive responses to the developmental
and communication needs of more complex social groups.
Pyysi ä inen ( 2009 , p.13) proposed that there are some general mental
operators that provide the underlying dynamics of religious behaviour.
This involves the combination of the hyperactive agency detection device
or operator with two other operators:The “Hyperactive Understanding of
Intentionality Device (HUID),” [involving] “the tendency to postulate men-
tality and see events as intentionally caused even in the absence of a visible
agent” and the “Hyperactive Teleofunctional Reasoning Device,” a “tendency
to see objects as existing for a purpose.” The innate nature of these reasoning
processes is attested to in studies of children’s natural tendency to o er teleo-
logical explanations of events involving a supernatural agency.
Supernatural production from integrating the natural history
intelligence
This combination of modules in the production of supernatural thought is
exempli ed in the linking of the natural history (animal species) module to
the modules for personal self- awareness and social (other) awareness (e.g.,
Gardner’s intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences, respectively). Humans
have an innate natural intelligence, an intrinsic ability to recognise and cat-
egorise species of animals. This prehistoric hunter- gatherer intuitive biology
that provides a template for animals was extended as a system to organise
information in other domains of signi cance, in particular for thinking about
personal identity and qualities and social relations. Consequently, an innate
intelligence regarding animals provided the basis for creating a universal ana-
logical system for extension of personal and social identity through meta-
phor; these meaning systems provide powerful adaptations for personal and
social integration (Winkelman, 2010 ) and constitute foundational supernatural
concepts.
Animals as self and society:Animal spirits and group totems
The reciprocal process of personi cation of nature in animism is the natur-
alisation of the person and society. Human projective processes involve the
internalisation of the social other into our own characteristics, a basic function
of socialisation (see Winkelman, 2004 ). These innate cognitive processes are
used to internalise the qualities found in nature into the person through sha-
manic self- development rituals designed to incorporate animal spirits as allies,
guardian spirits and personal powers (Winkelman, 2010 ). Shamanistic relations
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Innate cognitive operators 97
with animals engage humans’ capacity to incorporate other’s perceptions
and qualities into the self, internalising the qualities of others— in this case
animals— into self- identity.
One of the most prevalent aspects of “animal” thought found in shamanism
involves the incorporation of animals as aspects of the self, illustrated in the
guardian spirit complex, where a special relationship with a speci c animal
species serves as a model for empowerment and self- development (Swanson,
1963 ). This development involves the incorporation of the properties of the
species within personal identity and capabilities— one becomes as fast as a deer,
acquires the sight of eagles, etc. Animal species’ characteristics are internalised in
individual psychodynamics as natural symbols that provide models for attitudes,
social behaviour and personality. Such representations can also provide higher
order self- representations that can mediate internal con ict and hierarchies of
personal and social goals (Winkelman, 2010 ).
A similar application of animal species to model the identity of human social
groups contributes to formation of group identity. This is exempli ed in the
practice of totemism, where an animal species represents the supernatural iden-
tity of a group. The signi cance of totemism for symbolism, nature relations and
cognition was exempli ed in the classic book Totemism by L é vi- Strauss ( 1962 ).
Totemism is based in a metaphoric relationship between the animal species and
social groups involving analogical processes that attribute a homology between
animal species and human groups. Totemism provides a system for di erenti-
ating societies by using the obvious di erences among species as an analogy to
represent di erent social groups based on the innately recognised di erences
among species of animals. Various animal species constitute natural symbols
for representing diverse human groups and their characteristics, providing a
unique identity for each society in the associated animal qualities. The use of
features of animals in social and cognitive modelling is one of the most funda-
mental aspects of metaphoric thought, providing a universal human system for
expression of social and personal identity through the integration of the innate
module for animal species categorisation with the capacity for recognising the
identity of the social other.
Collective foundations of the supernatural
In his classic book Elementary Forms of Religious Life , Durkheim ( 1915 ) o ered an
understanding of how supernatural practices and beliefs were adaptive in their
functions in society. Rather than a delusional system of thought or mistaken
identi cation of people with animals, Durkheim characterised the supernatural
beliefs exempli ed in totemism as constituting “collective representations” that
had functional roles in the formation of society and the moral community.
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98 Michael J.Winkelman
Durkheim’s conceptualisation of the supernatural emphasised the sacred, a
socially de ned symbolic domain that contrasted with the profane aspects of
daily existence and united people together in a moral community. While the
sacred was de ned by society, it was equally true that this sacred realm dictated
the norms and organisation of society. To Durkheim, religion and society were
virtually synonymous. Societies de ne a sacred realm that provides fundamental
beliefs a ecting virtually all aspects of life, from values and norms for behaviour,
to laws, legal systems and political structures that govern society.
Durkheim ( 1915 ) saw collective supernatural identities within a sacred
realm as basic to religion. The use of animals as representations of social groups
produced a common symbol of identity for clan and deity. The sacred ritual
for worshiping the clan’s deity had the e ect of physically constituting the
society through gatherings that reunited the dispersed members of the clan.
In Durkheim’s view these ritual practices constituted the most basic form of
religion and human relations with the supernatural. These practices illustrate
how the functions of religious institutions are to help assure the maintenance
of cultures as groups.
Durkheim’s model of the supernatural was informed by Spencer and Gillen’s
( 1899 ) study of the Australian aborigines, who Durkheim considered to have
the most primitive form of religion. Their social world was organised in
descent- based clans that were made concrete in the idea of animal totems, gen-
erally represented as a sacred animal or plant. The totems were a representation
of the clan group, but also conceived of as a spirit power, making the totem
simultaneously a representation of both the supernatural and social realms.
These totems were the focus of the most important collective rituals of these
groups. During most of the year the clan broke down into smaller groups of
foragers who could more e ectively exploit food resources. In the season of
plentiful food, members of the clan congregated in a select area for weeks of
ritual activities, including ritual re- enactment of feats of the ancestor, initiation
of new members, promotion of the totem’s fertility, and moral instruction from
the elders. For these weeks the society— the clan members— was physically
and socially constituted as they gathered together for the sacred festivities. The
women who were born into the clan and had left to join their husband’s group
also might return for the rituals, brie y rejoining their natal families. Thus the
ritual enactment constituted society by creating the physical connection among
kin for relations with the sacred.
The coincidence of the same symbol de ning kin relations and society on
one hand and the supernatural on the other led Durkheim to conclude that
religion was in essence the worship of society and that religion was a system
designed to help produce and assure societal cohesion. The rituals were gen-
erally enacted or supervised by the eldest direct male descendant of the clan
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Innate cognitive operators 99
founder, who was symbolically merged with the founder ancestor, a lineage of
relatives linking the deceased with their living descendants. Thus, the deities are
relatives, and the supernatural provides symbols that help integrate community
with a common belief, purpose and moral orientations.
Durkheim characterised these Australian totemic practices as a form of
ancestor worship, recognising how the application of an animal species to
the identity of a group was an expression of a communal identity with one’s
ancestors. Supernatural relations with deceased relatives are exempli ed in
ancestor cults found worldwide. In many cultures, one’s deceased ancestors
are viewed as the most important spiritual beings and collective rituals are
performed in honour of one’s ancestors. These ritual activities are thought to
encourage the ancestors to a ect the well- being of the living. As with the
Aborigines’ clan totems, fundamental to engagement with the supernatural are
relations with others in society, a group membership based on common des-
cent. This principle of descent means that the supernatural has a fundamental
basis in thoughts about one’s ancestors.
Evolutionary origins of ancestor worship
Steadman and Palmer ( 1995 ; S tea dma n, Pa lm er & T ill ey, 1996 ) propose that a
universal supernatural claim manifested in one form or another in all cultures
is the belief that departed ancestors are still in contact with the world of the
living and are able to in uence circumstances that favour the well- being of
their living descendants. They note that where elaborate ancestor worship is not
found, there are still beliefs regarding communication between the living and
their deceased ancestors.
The apparent universality of this speci c supernatural claim— the continued
existence of dead ancestors and their implications for the well- being of the
living— suggests that it is a core feature in the evolution of supernatural concepts.
The universality of such a speci c form of supernatural belief indicates that it
had some adaptive function that was subjected to natural selection as a con-
sequence of its e ects in increasing a person’s and their kin group’s success in
leaving descendants (Steadman & Palmer, 2008 ). These include the formation
of culture, cooperation among descendants, and creation of social hierarchies.
Ancestors as cultural traditions
The universality of beliefs in ancestors re ects their far- reaching implications
for adaptation and survival of groups. Ancestors represent the source of cultural
traditions and beliefs that provide resources essential for human survival. The
simple fact that the ancestors embody the core of the cultural traditions makes the
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100 Michael J.Winkelman
beliefs and practices regarding them basic processes for cultural transmission and
the maintenance of a society. The belief that the ancestors can a ect the lives of
their living descendants provides mechanisms for strengthening the transmission
of their cultural traditions. The ritual linkages of people based on an assumption
of common ancestors creates a context within which people feel compelled to
accept common traditions associated with the expectations expressed during
life by their now deceased kin. Those expectations convey social norms and
reinforce social solidarity. Consensus and conformity is enhanced through the
ritual communication of current leaders with deceased ancestors in order to
convey their expectations to their descendants.
Dispositions favouring the behaviours and evaluations of elder kin neces-
sarily was part of human adaptation, a ecting reproduction and survival for
millions of years, beginning as soon as we had the capacity to learn useful skills
from observing the behaviour of others. This capacity to learn from others was
enhanced with the emergence of the mimetic capacity more than a million
years ago (Donald, 1991 ), when the capacity for learning from observing the
behaviour of others began to be re ected in the remarkably constancy of tool
making traditions across nearly a million years. The ability to in uence one’s
o spring and relatives to emulate established patterns of behaviour is the foun-
dation of culture.
Ancestors as social hierarchy
Traditions requiring respect for ancestors through cults and worship also pro-
mote respect for the living in the elder kin who are directly responsible for
the transmission of the traditions of the ancestors. Ancestor worship inher-
ently involves an attitude of lial piety, and by modelling, directly encourages
members of society to show respect for the hierarchy of elders and their super-
natural traditions. Rituals focused on showing respect for ancestors, exempli-
ed in ancestor cults, strengthen the actual social hierarchy. The supernatural
belief in ancestors and rituals for their worship have the e ect of strengthening
kinship ties and solidifying the basic structures of the post- band society. This
provides the basis for creating increasingly large groups, exempli ed in the
extended kinship structures of lineages and clans that provide a form of social
organisation that is more encompassing than the band and unilineal kinship
structure.
Cooperation
Steadman and Palmer ( 2008 ) propose the real signi cance of the totemic clan
rituals involves promoting cooperation among co- descendants of a common
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Innate cognitive operators 101
ancestor. Cooperation among descendants is the fundamental basis for human
society, beginning with family and continuing through more distant kin.
Maintenance of relations among kin has signi cant implications for survival
and reproduction because one’s kin are generally the most important source of
resources a ecting survival and reproductive success (Irons, 1979 ). The adaptive
signi cance of supernatural beliefs regarding ancestors involves their central role
in the enhancement of cooperative relations among kin. Religious rituals that
focus on the ancestors provide mechanisms for strengthening kinship ties by
encouraging— even requiring— cooperation among the co- descendants of a
common ancestor. The ritual gathering provides a mechanism by which those
people identi ed as kin are presented with the opportunity and obligation to
form social relationships that promote cooperative social behaviour.
In order to bene t from the advantages of cooperating with kin, ancient soci-
eties developed traditions that facilitated the identi cation of distant and even
unknown relatives that should be disposed to cooperation. This identi cation was
often embodied in an animal as discussed above. The symbol is iconic, making
it intelligible across languages. The identi cations of ancestors through iconic
animal symbols provide a mechanism for the identi cation of distant kin not
known to the person.
Steadman and Palmer ( 2008 ) note that the forms of patrilineal clan identi -
cation produced by ancestor worship provide a basis for an average individual
to identify the thousands of relatives with whom they are related, the living co-
descendants of the founder ancestor. Ritual activities have the purpose of iden-
tifying such individuals and reinforcing cooperative relations among them. This
cooperative behaviour is the most signi cant impact of ancestor worship that
was selected for through evolution in fostering cooperative behaviour among
kin, encouraging the extension of altruism and cooperation beyond the imme-
diate family.
Supernatural beliefs as signalling cooperation
Palmer, Ellsworth, and Steadman ( 2009 ) propose that the communication of
ancestor beliefs, like other supernatural beliefs, involves a public demonstra-
tion of the acceptance of the truth claims of assertions that cannot be proven.
This acceptance of another person’s judgment without scepticism in the face
of evidence of one’s own senses shows the acceptance of another’s in uence,
which supports cooperative social relationships. This practice of accepting the
dictates of an ancestor is a speci c case of a broader e ect of religious traditions
of increasing cooperation among members of a social group by the implicit
signalling of cooperativeness indicated by a willingness to accept the reality and
importance of unseen actors. The in uence of ancestors on the relationships
9781138314498_pi-171.indd 1019781138314498_pi-171.indd 101 22-Jul-19 10:30:02 AM22-Jul-19 10:30:02 AM
102 Michael J.Winkelman
among descendants manifests a central aspect of religion and supernatural
relations, a system of morality. The signi cance of morality for evolution is that
such rules serve to reduce con ict among descendants and enhance cooper-
ation among members of a group. This enhances their reproductive success and
increases the group’s ability to out- compete others, especially under conditions
of scarce resources or needs for protection and alliances.
Adaptive effects of supernaturalising social life
The use of animal species for identity formation created a supernaturalisation
of personal and social identity in totem animals and ancestor worship, inte-
grating basic modular functions of the brain. The biological model of innate
cognition provides an understanding of these universal supernatural beliefs in
the combination of innate capacities for self, other and animal representation.
Supernatural thought involved exaptations of these innate modules, new cul-
tural adaptations targeted by natural selection to enhance social behaviours
through the use of natural symbols— animal representations— to identify social
groups. This metaphoric identity has produced a foundational aspect of super-
natural belief and experience.
The supernaturalisation of social life and expanding social relations to
include spirits produced tness advantages (Rossano, 2007 ). Supernatural agent
beliefs expanded the capacities of the attachment system to enhance cooper-
ation within groups (Weingarten & Chisholm, 2009 ). Religious bonding
propensities involving the supernatural were adaptively co- opted from their
original functions of mother- infant bonding, permitting humans to engage a
high level of reciprocity among non- kin that is rarely found in other species.
Spirit concepts are the proximate psychological mechanisms that provide the
basis for expanding group cooperation beyond the limits of kinship, extending
emotional attachment to leaders or deities through an exaptation of the
mother- infant bond to positive emotional valuation of the group’s leader. Since
this extended the mammalian bonding capacity to non- kinship, it involved
an exaptation of this capacity for a new function of enhanced social integra-
tion (rather than individual bonding). Beliefs in supernatural agents enhanced
intragroup cooperation because concepts of deity provided a mechanism
for group cooperation that exceeded the capacity of a single alpha male to
command respect and submission. And it could do so without the violence of
intragroup dominance- related aggression.
These extended supernatural agent beliefs encourage adherence to social
norms and enhanced the functioning of moral mechanisms in ways that enhance
human cooperation (Johnson & Bering, 2006 ). Supernatural concepts include
the notion that deities are not limited by human constraints on knowledge;
9781138314498_pi-171.indd 1029781138314498_pi-171.indd 102 22-Jul-19 10:30:02 AM22-Jul-19 10:30:02 AM
Innate cognitive operators 103
consequently, supernatural omniscience is a more e ective deterrent against
deceit, cheating, and freeloading. Since the supernatural can have knowledge
regarding failure to conform to nor ms, even if other humans don’t know,
supernatural beliefs extended mechanisms of social scrutiny to enhance social
cooperation. With this extension of the supernatural into the human social
world, within- group cooperation was enhanced by the belief that the spirits
were always watching and capable of detecting non- cooperators and cheaters,
reducing the “free- rider problem” and enhancing prosocial behaviour. The per-
soni ed representations of social norms as the demands of a deity contribute to
the perceptions of moral systems as fair and objective.
Rossano proposes that “supernaturalising” social scrutiny with an omnis-
cient spirit increased the possibility of a greater group size and enabled a social
complexity that allowed more religious groups to out- compete less religious
groups. Over sociocultural evolution humans moved towards increasing the
number of people within this inclusive sense of group identity— as exempli ed
in today’s world in nationalism and especially global identity movements. This
sense of identi cation with a group embodies the experience of the spiritual
and supernatural.
A universal social experience for humans is the sense of both being their
own body and being part of a social group that is also part of their experience
and identity. Durkheim proposed that it is this sense of identity with a uid,
ever- changing collectivity that underlies our intuition of a spirit, a purposeful
entity that persists beyond the death of any one of its members. These spirit
beliefs also contribute to a conception of the essence of one’s self as also having
a spirit form. These dynamics of a common social and personal identity are
prominently mediated by natural symbols— animals— that lend their unique
qualities to personal and societal di erentiation in a domain conceptualised
as the supernatural. Supernatural experiences generically involve relationships
of self- identity and a transcendental other that informs our experience in
signi cant ways.
Conclusions
The basic aspects of supernatural experience found in pre- modern societies
are focused on concerns with the intrinsic spirituality of nature (animism), the
internal animal nature of humans and society (totemism), and the relationships
with one’s deceased ancestors (shamanism and ancestor worship). These
experiences are based on the co- activation of basic operators for social intelli-
gence, identi cation with others, and animal species identi cation.
Animism involves combining a capacity for agency detection with intraper-
sonal and interpersonal intelligences. Personal and collective spirits typically
9781138314498_pi-171.indd 1039781138314498_pi-171.indd 103 22-Jul-19 10:30:02 AM22-Jul-19 10:30:02 AM
104 Michael J.Winkelman
combine these intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences with the naturalist
intelligence, blending animal concepts with our personal and collective iden-
tities. Ancestor worship exhibits a similar collective dynamic with the interper-
sonal attributions combined with the hierarchic operator. Shamanism exploited
these qualities to enhance human personal and social power. The role of ancestor
shamans of their lineage in the selection for the shamanic role and the receipt of
power is widely attested to.
Other supernatural experiences also notably manifest the innate intelligences
proposed by Gardner. Shamanic soul ight shows the activation of intraper-
sonal intelligence with the spatial intelligence, but with a suspension of basic
bodily capacities. Possession experiences show an imposition of the interper-
sonal intelligence over the intrapersonal intelligence. Meditative experiences
show notable correspondences to the suspension of speci c intelligences, for
example spatial and interpersonal, re ected in unity experiences; activation of
interpersonal and hierarchical operators in identi cation with god; and suspen-
sion of all intelligences except the intrapersonal in void experiences.
Acknowledgements
I thank John Baker for his many readings of this manuscript and his contributions
to improving it.
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