Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T19:54:08.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Commitment enforcement also explains shamanism's culturally shared features

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2018

Stefan Linquist
Stefan Linquist*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1. [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The proposed explanation for the evolution of shamanism is not the only viable option. I sketch an alternative commitment hypothesis that views shamanism as an adaptation at the level of biological individuals or cultural groups. To the extent that these hypotheses make overlapping predictions about the culturally shared features of shamanism, we lack adequate evidence to discriminate among them.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e80
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Colson, E. (1960) The social organization of the Gwembe Tonga. Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1937) Witchcraft, oracles and magic among the Azande. Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Linquist, S. (2016) Which evolutionary model best explains the culture of honour? Biology and Philosophy 31:213–35.Google Scholar