Secularisation and the dual inheritance model of religion

Konrad Talmont-KaminskiMarie Curie-Sklodowska U., Poland

or, why the philosophes should have read Darwin

Line of argument

Evolution & secularisationDual inheritance accountCultural adaptationsCognitive byproductsAncestral traits

Evolution & secularisation

Psychological & social mechanisms vital to understanding

Only provide proximate explanations

Ultimate explanations in terms of evolutionary processes

Two kinds of explanations complementary

Evolution & secularisation

Evolutionary change not directed

Secularisation not inevitable

Genetic vs cultural evolution

Genotype+environment determine phenotype

No genetic or cultural determinism

Genetic factors generally less open to change

Dual inheritance

Mental Mechanisms

Cognitive Byproducts

Prosocial Adaptations

Cultural Traditions

z

yq Ideologies

Magic

Genetic Evolution

Cultural Evolution

l

k

See:Atran, S., Henrich, J. The Evolution of ReligionBiological Theory 5.1(2010)

* Grossly simplified version

*

Magical Ideologies

Religions z

Magic & secularisation

Cognitive basis for magic cannot be eliminated

Rationalist critiques only destabilise individual magical B&P

Security weakens magical B&P in general

Propensity to believe in magic remains

Ideology & secularisation

All ideologies function by misrepresenting reality

Religions make use of existing cognitive byproducts

Rationalist attitudes drive wedge between magic & religion

Improve environment for nonreligious ideologies

Ancestral traits

Secularised societies

Stable despite weak religion

Nonreligious ideologies

Other strong social institutions

Loss of function

Genetic/cultural drift

Aspects of secularisation

No elimination

Unstable affiliation

Weak affiliation

Loss of functionCultural drift

Cognitive basis

Secure environment

y

y

y

Thank you

Konrad Talmont-KaminskiIn a Mirror, Darkly: How the Supernatural Reflects Rationality (forthcoming)

konrad@talmont.comdeisidaimon.wordpress.com