All Paths Lead to Magical Thinking

[Voltaire2]

In recent years, psychologists have come to understand religion and paranormal belief as resulting, in most people, from simple errors in reasoning. You believe in God or astrology or a purpose in life because you apply ideas about people—that they have thoughts and intentions—to the natural world. Some display this tendency more than others, but it’s there in everyone, even atheistic heathens like me. What has not been clarified is exactly how the various cognitive biases interact to produce specific ideas about the supernatural—until now.

In the November 2013 issue of Cognition, Aiyana Willard and Ara Norenzayan of the University of British Columbia report on the relative influence of three cognitive tendencies on three types of supernatural belief, as well as the role of cultural influence.

Several studies show that people who think more intuitively are also more susceptible to magical thinking. One intuition that’s been proposed as a foundation for religious thought is Cartesian mind-body dualism, the idea that a mind can exist independently of a body. (See chapter 5 of my book, The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: “The Soul Lives On.”) This proposition allows for souls, ghosts, spirits, and Gods, all made of disembodied mind-stuff. Explanations for dualism include belief in free will and the mutual inhibition of brain areas responsible for pondering feelings and physics.

Another psychological process related to mysticism is anthropomorphism, the tendency to apply human-like traits to non-human entities or concepts. (See chapter 6 of my book: “The World is Alive.”) God or the Universe is hearing your prayers. Your laptop meant to crash during your presentation. Your dog understands you. Anthropomorphism can be motivated by loneliness or the need to predict and control our environment. It’s a form of pattern-seeking in which the pattern is another coherent mind.

A third process involved in magical thinking is teleological reasoning, seeing a purpose (telos, Greek for end) in objects or events. (See chapter 7: “Everything Happens for a Reason.”) Many things have a purpose (chairs, weddings). Many don’t (the Grand Canyon, hurricanes), but we sometimes feel like they do. Again, searching for purposes is a way to understand and ultimately control the world around us.

More here: Psychology Today

[MineralMan]

1. Nicely presented in that article.

Yes. I agree.

[Voltaire2]

2. The diagram at the end is fabulous.

[MineralMan]

3. Yes. It is all kinds of wonderful

in its indecipherable complexity. Plus, it looks all scientific and precise and stuff.

[yallerdawg]

4. Everyone wants to rationalize the "reasons" for faith.

Reason and faith are antithetical.

Reason, evidence, proof and logic do not apply to the faithful.

Reason, evidence, proof and logic lean in support of the opinion of the faithless.

Your "magical thinking" IS faith!

[Voltaire2]

5. no it goes beyond that.

But as long as you agree that god beliefs and ghost beliefs are equivalent, we are making some progress.

[yallerdawg]

6. I beg to differ.

When you have seen a ghost or God, you are no longer just a "believer."

[Voltaire2]

7. that doesn't disagree with anything I posted.

And in fact you are agreeing that belief in ghosts and gods and unicorns are equivalent.

[yallerdawg]

9. Answer this.

Do you believe water will freeze at 32° Fahrenheit?

Or is everyone required to demonstrate this fact whenever they state this belief?

And what happens the first time water doesn't freeze at 32°?

Or is the freezing temperature of water just another unicorn?

[MineralMan]

10. The freezing point of water changes with

elevation. Not a great deal, but it changes.

It also changes with changes in the dissolved solids in that water.

Pure, distilled water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level, with a high degree of accuracy, although barometric pressure changes can alter that temperature slightly.

[marylandblue]

16. There is a person who has visions of God

but is an atheist. His visions are caused by eliptectic siezures. In ancient times, people believed epileptics were possessed by divine spirits. So faith and reason do mix, unless you'd rather just have faith in the random electrical currents in an overactive brain.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. No. It's much simpler than that...

People look for answers and have hopes and dreams. When the natural order of things don't answer them, or their feelings or fears, they look beyond.

My mother was a typical Lutheran woman for most of her life. But when, in her 70's she was watching a second husband dying of cancer the church was little help so she started going to card readers, soothsayers, seers, and other charlatans.

It didn't take long to get her to see the light, but we knew it was pure desperation. She was not fool, nor was she balancing various esoteric theories-- she was simply one of millions of desperate people facing tragedy and was grasping at whatever straws showed up.

Religion, politics, reverse mortgage sales... These are all have the same mechanisms that cause us to search in strange places for answers to questions we haven't fully thought out.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Good example.

I've known of a few other situations where someone dying of cancer turns to what I will call non-traditional healers. If conventional medicine doesn't offer any help it is quite understandable to seek unconventional medicine. Even people who have strong belief in an afterlife usually aren't in a real hurry to exit this one.

[Pope George Ringo II]

11. Religion's core and universal answer is "It's magic!"

"Where did the universe come from?"
"Why are we here?"
"Can I survive cancer?"
"How do I find my other sock?"

There's a reason mental health professionals overlook regional norms in assessing a patient's relationship with reality. People who live in Iceland and believe in elves are given a pass. People who live in N'Awlins and believe in voodoo are given a pass. You simply can't diagnose a majority of the population even if they deserve it. But the guy from Reykjavik who believes in voodoo might just get a diagnosis and some interesting progress notes.

From a psychological perspective, a christian in most of the world is really no different than a voodoo priest in N'Awlins. They're not saying he's sane, just that treating all of them is problematical and low-priority.

[PragmaticDem]

13. Religion is a hope.

[Voltaire2]

14. sure, that is one thing many religions do: pretend that there is some alternative to death.

Of course they don't actually have an alternative, just a lot of mumbo-jumbo they'd like you to believe in, for a price.

[PragmaticDem]

15. Well they are not designed to offer an alternative.

What bothers me are those who take money from the vulnerable and weak, and they offer no spiritual or material help. Not all clergy are like this but there are plenty that are. I have met a few.

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. Illusory hope.

The kind of hope that makes you feel better without substantively changing anything. The Opiate of the Masses, I believe it is called.

[MineralMan]

18. "Sure and certain" hope.

That's the phrase used at funerals. If something is "sure and certain," you don't need hope at all. It will happen. But, hedging your certainty appears to be needed. Odd, huh?

[PragmaticDem]

19. One point of view.

[Act_of_Reparation]

20. No kidding.

[PragmaticDem]

21. You're welcome!