The social mind & cognitive psychology

1. The social mind & cognitive psychology Morals - religion Gender differences and ToM

2. Religion

3. Common reasons • Why be religious? Popular beliefs • Why have mascots? • Make sense of otherwise unpredictable events • Illness • Personal crisis • Adolescence – identity crisis • Luck, chance, etc.. • Make sense of the world – the problem of attribution

4. Attribution • Human obsession : causal thinking – there HAS to be a cause for everything • Attribution: percieved cause of action • Internal vs external attribution • Consensus – other people same situation • Distinctiveness – same individual – different situation • Consistency – same individual – same situation • Interoceptive sensations of bodily action

5. Flaws in the system • Actor/observer effect (Jones and Nisbett) – fundamental attribution error • Attention: drawing attention either to self or others shifs attribution • Self-serving attributions – just world hypothesis • Avoid feelings of vulnerability and mortality – religion?

6. Self-awareness • Why do we inevitably feel stupid after an interview or presentation? • self-awareness – how conscious we are of our own looks, behaviour and words • Enhances negative opinion – as a result of experiencing oneself as the source of perception and action • Interview – people look bored – reason person/fatigue • Footnote: depression – more self-aware?

7. Hypercorrection • The „mirror experiment” • subjective and objective self-awareness (Duval and Wicklund, 1972) • Mirror makes people more self-aware and less environment aware • Mirrors make one stick to norms more often • Stigmas – social and linguistic enhance self-awareness and conforming to norms • A footnote on linguistics • Bement a házba. • Bent van a házban. • Mirror: sticking to the norms more

8. God’s authorship • Authorship in a word recognition task • Participants are told they are competing with a computer • The computer takes the word off the screen after 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700 ms • Participants have to make a judgement on 1-6 scale whether it was them or the computer who took the word off the screen • Dijksterhuis, A. et al., EVects of subliminal priming of self and God on self-attribution of authorship for events, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (2007), doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2007.01.003

9. 17 ms prime „me” „computer” „God” „the” „broccoli” „xxxxx” Judgement task: was it you or the computer? (1 computer 6 me) 250 ms premask 50 ms postmask Target word

10. No differences in lexical decision time

11. Sociology of religions • Five main religions: • Judaism • Christianity • Muslim • Hinduism • Buddhism • This is based on a historical account – not on current sociological averages

12. Religions – how important is it?

13. Religions in the world

14. Atheism - The Lenin Mausoleum • Embalmed body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 2 reasons for embalming Temporary preservation until proper burial (Princes Diana, American Civil War, Crusades) Long-term Preserving for veneration although Eva Perón Abraham Lincoln Some religions (Muslims, Jews) explicitly forbid embalming

15. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism Anti-religious propaganda An interesting footnote

16. Evolutionary accounts of religion • Richard Dawkins • Openly attacking religion – derogatory of believers • Supporter of the Brights movement • Bright – Paul Geisert’s umbrella term • Daniel C. Denett • More of a compromise • Restricts himself to the argument that religion can and should be studied by science

17. Dawkins’s previous views • An ardent opponent to creationism and proponent of evolution - earning him the title of Darwin’s Rottweiler • The Blind Watchmaker – focuses on how evolution could create marvellous structures – like the eye • Not openly against religion • William Paley – a watch presupposes intelligent design because of its complexity

18. The Weasel problem • Shakespeare’s Hamlet • Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?Polonius: By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel. • Based on the infinite monkey theorem • A monkey bashing away at random on a typewriter – given enough time he would type the entire works of Shakespeare • how long would it take him to produce the sentence ‘Methinks it is like a weasel.’?

19. The Weasel problem • Methinks it is like a weasel • This is 28 characters • Using 26 letters – only capitals and aspace bar • Probability? • 2728 = 1040 = infinity, or at least much longer than milliseconds from the existence of the universe (13,73 billion = 13,73 * 109 years = 7,22 * 1018 milliseconds)

20. Sir Frederick Hoyle • „approximately the same order of magnitude as the probability that a hurricane could sweep through a junkyard and randomly assemble a Boeing 747.” • solar system full of blind men solving Rubik's Cube simultaneously. • The simplest bacterium needs 1040,000permutations, while the number of the atoms in the universe is „only” 1080, • the chance is the same as throwing 50 000 sixes in a row with a die • Astronomer and sci-fi writer • He opposed the Big Bang theory – because it needs a cause Steady State theory • He also opposed natural abiogenesis! • Intelligent design - Evolution from Space

21. Hoyle’s fallacy • They calculate the probability of the formation of a "modern" protein, or even a complete bacterium with all "modern" proteins, by random events. • This is not the abiogenesis theory at all – it starts with VERY SIMPLE organisms (you don’t need 28 letters. You start with say 3.) • They assume that there is a fixed number of proteins, with fixed sequences for each protein, that are required for life. • They calculate the probability of sequential trials, rather than simultaneous trials. • Changing one at a time – mutations are rare but do not exclude each other • They seriously underestimate the number of functional enzymes/ribozymes present in a group of random sequences – only one good solution fallacy

22. The Weasel problem • Cumulative selections instead of a single step selection • Two differences in his model: • Copying mechanism – it retains previous states • There is an inherent goal – any change that occurs towards methinks it is a weasel is kept, others are discarded • Generation 1: WDLMNLT DTJBKWIRZREZLMQCO P • Generation 2: WDLTMNLT DTJBSWIRZREZLMQCO P • Generation 10: MDLDMNLS ITJISWHRZREZ MECS P • Generation 20: MELDINLS IT ISWPRKE Z WECSEL • Generation 30: METHINGS IT ISWLIKE B WECSEL • Generation 40: METHINKS IT IS LIKE I WEASEL • Generation 43: METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL

23. Fitness or adaptive landscapes – genetic variation is pushed to the direction of the arrows • Waddington – epigenetic landscape – curiously posits a rolling, not a climbing ball • Saddle points in mathematics as non-optimal solutions

24. The circular argumentation problem • Inherent goal – often evokes attacks of circular argumentation • The effects strive towards the goal • The goal preexists (who invented the goal?) • Answer – evolutionary forces • How do you know this was the goal? • Because it is reached!

25. The book was a best-seller sold over 1,5 million copies and translated to 31 languages „If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down. What presumptuous optimism! Of course, dyed-in-the-wool faith-heads are immune to argument, their resistance built up over years of childhood indoctrination using methods that took centuries to mature (whether by evolution or design).” „But I believe there are plenty of open-minded people out there:” Conversely it raised sales of spiritual books by 50% and the sales of the Bible by 120% (amazon.com)

26. Douglas Adams: "isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?„ (The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy) Robert Pirsig: when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion.

27. Einsteinean religion Metaphor for nature or the mysteries of the universe „God does not play dice” – rules of nature can be established (there is a trap of intentionalism here) The God Hypothesis God=creator of universe, who needs to be worshipped Denies the fact that science and religion are non-overlapping magisteria The God hypothesis

28. „How the complex, improbable desing of the universe arises” The Arument from Design vs natural selection The Ultimate Boeing 747 Gambit The God hypothesis

29. Curiously universal „theory of religion as an accidental by-product – a misfiring of something useful” The intentional stance Memes Morals would you commit murder, rape or robbery if you knew that no God existed? Kant : categorical imperatives Dawkins : altruistic genes selected for by evolution creating natural empathy Strongy against the religious indoctrination of children Should all cultural practices be banned then? The God hypothesis

30. Denett on religion • An argument towards the scientific study of religion – terrorist attempts 9/11 • Explanation given on the basis of meme theory (by Dawkins) • Evaluation of good and bad aspects

31. Denett on religion • Part I: Opening Pandora's Box • Relationship of science and religion • Part II: The Evolution of Religion • Part III: Religion Today • What should be done to stop religious fanatics

32. Breaking which spell? • The story of the suicidal ant and the lancet fluke, a small worm • There are many ideas to die for protecting ideologies • (other animals protect food, cubs or habitat only) • The curious example of the dog (domestication) • Ideas are not intelligent themselves- why should they cause others to kill • Neither are lancet flukes and the wings of butterflies

33. Breaking which spell? • Religion • Social systems • Participants avow belief • In supernatural agents OR • Agents whose approval is to be sought • Elvis Presley fan club is not one • Need not be anthropomorphic • Jehova exists in real-time according to some accounts and not real.time according to others • If prayer is a symbolic activity, not addressed to anyone, it is not part of religion • Maybe this is the origin of religion • Some rituals can pass to non-religious (Santa Claus or Halloween) • Private religions – spiritual in his terms, not religious • Black magic and satanist cults • They are not religions, because no one thinks so?? • Buddhism & Confucianism (again a contradiction)

34. Breaking which spell? • Breaking the spell – of religion • The analogy of the men with a cell phone in the room • Religion as a potentially evil spell – Sharin gas attack, 9/11 • Other ones mentioned: • Drugs • Gambling • Alcohol • Child pornography • Addiction? – life without it is not worth living • Excessive physical or psychological dependence (conversation? Communication?)

35. Breaking which spell? • Wouldn’t an extensive and invasive examination destroy the phenomenon itself? • Nobody knows the answer – incl.Denett • Endangered species – often become extinct because of capturing them to breed – which they don’t in captivity • Isolated people are often changed if studied by anthropologists • Cadavres were prohibited to study – medicine started off, when they did • Alfred Kinsey’s study of Human sexual behaviour – myths dispelled – it improved sex life • although consider „free love”

36. Breaking which spell? • Reformulating the category names • Gays and straights (and not glum) • Bright and … supers? (from supernatural) • Philip Tetlock’s sacred values • You’re money or your life! • I’m thinking, I’m thinking! • Aside – mugging becomes lucrative..

37. Breaking which spell? • Religion is a natural phenomena • Not an opposition of culture • Of course it is cultural • Not an opposition of supernatural either • It is in the nature of the homo sapiens to create religious memes • New myths • What about a Harry Potter day? • A new pretext to recieve presents! • Would you be in favour of inventing it? • Santa Claus - 1985

38. Some questions about science • Basically the same argument as Dawkins’ – and Gould’s non-overlapping magisteria again • It is possble to be neutral to religion • The gap between mind sciences (Geistwissenschaften) and nature sciences (Naturwissenschaften) is narrowing (though not yet disappeared)

39. Some questions about science • Homo sapiens – the power of the source of prediction • We can minimalize damages by preventing them – no other species has been observed to do that (collecting food is a general answer to periodic changes) • Epidemics • Economical crisis • Hurricanes • Can we prevent the next 9/11 by studying religion? • What if music is bad for you? • It can’t feed anyone or cure the ill… • All he asks for is to study religion – f it turns out to be bad, we need to think if it turns out to be good, atheist attacks can be silenced

40. Why Good things happen • Because of evolution… • Footprintsof coyotes and dogs • Why do coyotes howl? • The homo sapiens sugar industry • Tons of sugar and its counterpart – obesity clinics, toothpaste • Co-evolution of plant strategies to spread and homo s. strategies to find energy source • The free-floating rationale • It is perfectly rational as a mechanism, but nobody – including the participants – is aware, not conscious • i.e. you don’t need to understand it for it to work

41. Why Good things happen • The CUI BONO obsession • No free luch – somebody has to benefit • „Evolution is remarkably efficient in sweeping pointless accidents off the scene” • Remember the lancet fluke • And the toxoplasma gondii • Which lives in rats, drives them reckless, so they get eaten by cats, which is the only place they can reproduce • Sexual reproduction vs asexual – • making offspring more inscrutable to parasites – actually adaptation in general • Parasites are in an arms race with hosts

42. Why Good things happen • The Good Trick obsession • Anything that enhances fitness is a Good Trick • Flight and eyes were invented repeatedly over the course of evolution • Religion takes time & energy, both valuable and finite resources -> it must be a Good Trick -> cui bono? • Free-floating rationale works with culture too – that is a meme • You don’t have to understand the shape of the boat in terms of biodynamics it it is a tradition (N.B. is this true for modern science ?)

43. Why Good things happen • The CUI BONO of religion • The sweet tooth theory • Religion is good for us – just as sugar is – and we have developed a taste for it • And just as sugar – saccharine – it can be chated • The Symbiont Theories • The lancet fluke theory • Primarily it is not the Homo S that religion is good for • Mutualists • Commensals • Parasites Hundred trillion cells – 90% not human cells

44. Why Good things happen • The CUI BONO of religion • Sexual selection • The Peacock’s tail theory • Runaway selection • A whim of females? • Fitness indicator • Not a whim a sign of health • Faithfulness • Intelligence – music • Group selection • People with religion were more altruistic in necessary cases – better survival in rough times • The pearl theory – spandrels in a cathedral • A beautiful by-product • Does not enhance anything, it is an objet trouvé

45. The roots of religion • Historians „There have always been religion” • Dennett: that only means religion is more ancient than history writing • The CARGO cults & Melanesians – shows the formation of new religions • The John Frum cult • The Pomio Kivung cult

46. The roots of religion • Formation of new religions goes at an astounding pace • 2-3 created every day • Average lifetime is less than a decade • Religions – as known today – are relatively young historically compared to other cultural phenomena • Christianity – cca. 2,000 years • Judaism – cca. 4,000 years • Writing – cca. 5,000 years • Agriculture – cca. 40,000 • Language – cca. 35,000 - ?

47. The roots of religion • Psychological explanations – raisons d’être • To confort • To explain the unexplainable • Encourage group cohesion • Premature curiosity satisfaction (Dennett – the hows and whys)

48. The roots of religion • Modules that are combined • Pascal Boyer • Agent detector • Movements – categorizing them

49. http://astro.temple.edu/~tshipley/mocap/dotMovie.html http://www.biomotionlab.ca/Demos/BMLwalker.html

50. Useful if you need to find agentive entities in a noisy background • Biological motion • based on a few dots • it does not work upside down • pattern of activity • gender!