Transsingularities: the cognitive foundations of shamanism in Northern Asia
Social Anthropology May 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1111/1469-8676.12108 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Schema genetic algorithms Cognition Norm philosophy Singularity Epistemology Cognitive psychology Archaeology |
| Citations | 12 |
| Key points | Proposes that a 'singularity detection device'—an inferential schema linking individuality and category norms—underlies Northern Asian shamanism and may also operate in animist cosmologies elsewhere. |
Abstract
In Tuva (Southern Siberia), people expect that each class of beings contains singular individuals that distinguish themselves by atypical bodily and behavioural features and capacities. Among humans, such beings are shamans, but Tuvans also identify shamans among animals and trees. Even in the landscape, some atypical places are strong personalities. I call ‘transsingularity’ the supposed relationship that connects all these singular beings across their different classes. This treatment of atypical beings, which is widespread among Northern Asian traditions, is based on a ‘singularity detection device’, an inferential schema that links individuality and categorial norm in a specific way. This cognitive device sheds light on representations about metamorphosis as well as on interactional strategies between clients and shamans. The singularity detection device, as opposed to categorial thinking, appears to be at the foundation of Northern Asian shamanism. Finally I suggest that it may also play a role in animist cosmologies in other regions of the world.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |