Further Correspondences and Similarities of Shamanism and Cognitive Science: Mental Representation, Implicit Processing, and Cognitive Structures
Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2003 DOI: 10.1525/ac.2003.14.1.40 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Selective review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key findings | Findings from cognitive science and ideas from shamanism exhibit correspondences suggesting shamanic and nonshamanic cognition may not be fundamentally different. |
Abstract
Properties of mental representation are related to findings in cognitive science and ideas in shamanism. A selective review of research in cognitive science suggests visual images and spatial memory preserve important functional information regarding physical principles and the behavior of objects in the natural world, and notions of second‐order isomorphism and the perceptual cycle developed to account for such findings are related to shamanic experience. Possible roles of implicit processes in shamanic cognition, and the idea that shamanic experience may involve normally unconscious information becoming temporarily available to consciousness, are considered. The existence of a cognitive module dedicated to processing information relevant to social knowledge and social interaction is consistent with cognitive science and with shamanism, and may help account for the extension of intentionality and meaning that characterize shamanic practice. Overall, findings from cognitive science and ideas from shamanism exhibit a number of correspondences and similarities regarding basic properties of cognition, and this suggests that shamanic and nonshamanic cognition may not be fundamentally different.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallucinogenic Drugs and Plants in Psychotherapy and Shamanism | 1998 | Review | |
| Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in Mexico: An Overview | 2008 | Review | |
| Healing, spirituality and integrative medicine. | 2017 | Review | |
| Introduction: Evidence for entheogen use in prehistory and world religions | 2019 | Review | |
| The Evolved Psychology of Psychedelic Set and Setting: Inferences Regarding the Roles of Shamanism and Entheogenic Ecopsychology | 2021 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Phenomenological Analysis of Experimentally Induced Visual Mental Imagery Associated with Shamanic Journeying to the Lower World International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2006
- Whither Psi and Anthropology? An Incomplete History of SAC’s Origins, Its Relationship with Transpersonal Psychology and the Untold Stories of Castaneda’s Controversy Anthropology of Consciousness 2005
- Shamanic Cosmology as an Evolutionary Neurocognitive Epistemology International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2013
- Introduction to Special Topic Section: Shamanism International Journal of Transpersonal Studies July 1, 2012
- Experimental Study of Ostensibly Shamanic Journeying Imagery in Naïve Participants II: Phenomenological Mapping and Modified Affect Bridge Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2006