Combining Social Cohesion Theories with Altered States of Consciousness to Explain the Adaptive Advantages of Spiritual Capacity in Humans
The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology June 21, 2011 DOI: 10.5206/uwoja.v13i1.8844 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key points | Argues that the evolution of human spirituality stems from an initial discovery of altered states of consciousness that aided in solving existential dilemmas, and that socially cohesive explanations for religion are incomplete. |
Abstract
of the Spiritual Capacity in Humans"Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand." -Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Cognitive Developments within HomoThe Genus Homo is characterized by the trait of self-awareness; a distinction that separates it from its fellow animals because of the development sometime within the evolving Homo lineage of the capacity of individuals to reflect on their own mortality and to contemplate the existence of spiritual deities.These two derived cognitive traits are observable across the world in every present and past human culture and may extend back into our Genus lineage.It is important to understand the functional adaptation of these two cerebral capabilities in the context of what we already know about the biological adaptations of modem Homo sapiens.Modem humans have the capacity to reach transcendental states of consciousness that seem to whisk us away from the everyday world to a spiritual dimension that is not governed by the laws of physical matter.How and why did we develop this faculty?As one will witness in the following discussion, after decades of proposed theories about the evolution of a spiritual capacity within Homo, there is still no consensus among palaeoanthropologists.This paper will seek to briefly outline the current theories, which will be followed by a critique of the single-function paradigm that is holding back scientists from deciphering the anomaly of spirituality.I will argue that there certainly is a socially cohesive role for religion (as the communal form of individual spirituality) that provided a competitive advantage, but that this explanation is not complete.The foundation of all human spirituality was the initial "discovery" of altered states of consciousness within our own minds that first aided in solving those existential dilemmas that are such a fundamental aspect of the human condition.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altered States of Consciousness | 1966 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: a multilevel framework of description and explanation | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |