*Audio version* Talking about our research (Chris edition)
Added 2021-11-22 02:38:54 +0000 UTCThe audio version of the video of...
"Matt asking Chris' about his PhD research, and broader topics about religion and ritual.
The Matt focused edition will come next week probably and after that we will periodically release bite size episodes on research themed stuff (as we discuss at the end of the video).
Any suggestions or feedback about the content (or suggestions for a catchy title for the series) is welcome and we hope you enjoy!
Also, I apologise for the video switching style of the video. Zoom changed this for reasons best known to itself, next time the split screen function will be back in effect.
-Chris"
Comments
I'm reminded of when Frans de Waal was the keynote speaker at...I think a HBES meeting? He was on a panel that included a theologian, and when asked about this same question, started explaining current understanding of chimpanzee theory of mind using the word "imagination" to talk about the ability to entertain counterfactuals. As in, if you can't see an agent right there in front of you, it takes some level of theoretical thinking to perceive yourself as communicating with them anyway. The theologian on the panel visibly reacted to this word choice, and asked de Waal if he was calling God imaginary. I do think theory of mind is a prerequisite for conceiving of any form of supernatural agency, which I (along with Chris, apparently) consider central to religion. More specifically I think "mentalizing," or cognitive empathy, is required, because engaging in that means entertaining counterfactuals (aka, imagination).
Gretchen Koch
2021-12-01 16:41:20 +0000 UTCSo, it seems you‘ve landed on „Decoding the Academics“. Like.
Tom Allison
2021-11-27 23:37:28 +0000 UTCVery well put, as I am learning to come to expect in these parts. Thanks for the response.
Tom Allison
2021-11-27 23:36:18 +0000 UTCI'm familiar with work on possible religious analogs in other animals, especially primates. Most of it is controversial and anecdotal because it relies on field experiences. I would say the best evidence we have implies that maybe there is some possibility of awe and wonder being felt in response to natural events, ritualistic behaviours, and possible reverence like responses to dead bodies, but it is all very preliminary and none of it is really anything like proper 'religion' as commonly understand. Symbolic representation seems to be a cornerstone of religion and without that I think it might be more productive to talk about specific emotions and behaviors than 'religion'.
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-11-27 06:44:48 +0000 UTCCheers Tom. Yes we still do have plans for future publications, we just lack any time...
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-11-27 06:36:40 +0000 UTCRe: names for the category of segments like these. I like "Decoding the Decoders" from Ciaran, above. Something incorporating "Day Job" maybe? "Decoder Day Job Musings", "Notes from our day jobs", "Topics from our day jobs", "Topics from Chris and Matt's day jobs"... Anyway, it is kind of interesting what the relationship is between this podcast and your more standard academic work -- I think you've talked about deriving some serious contribution to your fields from it, right? A paper or maybe even goal for some actual research (the latter may only be in my head ;)). I wonder if you might also find topics for other podcasts or an expansion of this one in things folks find especially resonant in your wider focii... Looking forward to hearing more from you both.
Tom Allison
2021-11-25 15:26:35 +0000 UTCGreat stuff. Thanks for sharing. Sparks a lot of thoughts. I've been reading a lot of Michael Tomasello lately (decoding humans by comparing them via experiments to nearest biological relatives, i.e., chimps and bonobos) and in some point in your discussion there was a mention of whether religion has an analog in non-human animals/primates (hmm, or did I make that up/extrapolate from something?) -- anyway, Tomasello's stuff and a film we watched in an undergrad Cultural Anthropology course, 30-odd years ago, combined with your comments on religion possibly just reflecting something about our "cognitive architecture" made me wonder if there is any work on religious analogs in other species -- do you guys know of any? So this film (which I once found a clip of online but have since lost track of) was documenting a troop of chimpanzees in the wild and commenting on various aspects of their social organization and behavior. Much was made of dominance hierarchies amongst the males and there was a scene at some point where the alpha male was displaying his alpha-ness and all the other males were displaying their submission. Much later -- and I can't believe this is not a more famous clip -- and one never knows of course how much ones memory is adding -- but, like I said, I have seen it at least once since and it wasn't completely wrong -- anyway: the troop is in a grassy area as a large storm is coming up on the horizon and there is a great deal of thunder and lightening and the *whole troop* -including the alpha male - start gesticulating in the same way the subordinate chimps had earlier gesticulated to him apparently in response to the storm. If our religious behavior/belief stems from our cognitive architecture, is it too much of a stretch to think we might find traces of it in species that share large portions of that architecture?
Tom Allison
2021-11-24 10:56:27 +0000 UTCYou either die a decoder or live long enough to see yourself become the guru… loving the variation in content!
Samantha Rae
2021-11-22 23:15:11 +0000 UTCTrue. You might end up with a few confused Kenneth Branagh fans as well.
Ciaran Mullan
2021-11-22 11:22:15 +0000 UTClol. I love Belfast backstory but might be confusing for other episodes.
Christopher Kavanagh
2021-11-22 11:21:11 +0000 UTCName ideas: Decoding the Decoders Decoder Deep-dive Belfast Backstory Dysphoric Ritual
Ciaran Mullan
2021-11-22 11:09:34 +0000 UTCReally interesting! Thanks for sharing Chris. Actually I was thinking while I was listening to this, there is a lot of overlap between these hard right gurus and conspiracy theorists and the evangelical Church. And what I would find fascinating is to hear DTG's take on one of the evangelical gurus. Some of them are huge celebrities and are doing a lot of bad stuff like in Australia and NZ, the evangelicals are spreading anti vax conspiracies to the immunologically vulnerable indigenous populations. And causing huge problems with vaccine uptake.
Emma
2021-11-22 08:53:55 +0000 UTCLooking forward to it!
Daniel Reed Miller
2021-11-22 08:33:11 +0000 UTC
