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Superstition as Science
Konrad Talmont-KaminskiUMCS & KLI
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First-footing It is lucky when a tall man walks into a
house first in the New Year
Is this a scientific hypothesis?
Why not?
Is it something about the hypothesis?
Is it something aboutour attitudes?
Is it something about
how it was reached?
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Outline Elements of superstitions
Superstition, magic & religion 3 different views of superstition
Superstition as science
What is the difference?
Empirical limits
Conclusions
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Elements of superstitions Superstitious
beliefs
Superstitiouspractices
The link
between them
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Elements of a superstition Superstitious belief
Action Crossing fingers
Can be just an event Friday 13th
Effect
Potentially desirable or undesirable event Connection
Causation/conjuration orprediction/divination
Explanation Luck
No natural explanation
Supernatural explanation
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Elements of a superstition Superstitious practice
Taking or avoiding the action Avoiding black cats
Success uncertain
Function
Manifest
To avoid or bringabout the effect
Latent
Can be very different
First-footing again
Predicting or causing?
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Elements of a superstition The link between beliefs and
practices Generally problematic
Focussing on practices
Skinners behaviourism
Beliefs secondary
Focussing on beliefs
Superstition satisfying internal needs
Practices secondary
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Superstition, magic & religion
Magic & religionMagic &superstition
Religion &
superstition
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Superstition, magic & religion Magic & religion
E. Durkheim 1912 Sacred vs. profane
Religion
Social function
Magic Individual function
D. S. Wilson 2002
Evolutionary explanation of
religion
Social function as group-selection
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Superstition, magic & religion Magic & superstition
Magic Traditional societies
Superstition
Modern society
Relation?
Different phenomena
Same phenomenon / different contexts
Education and superstition (Jahoda 1969) Jumper example
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Superstition, magic & religion Religion & superstition
Deisidaimonia Misplaced fear of daimons
Theophrastus, circa 300 BC
Superstition is false religion
Worship of demons Aquinas, circa 1250 AD
Atheist generalisation All religion is false
Therefore, superstition is all religion Can differentiate religion & superstition
Some religious practices superstitious Intercessory prayer
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3 views of superstition
Superstition asfantasy
Superstition asrhetoric
Superstition asscience
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3 views of superstition Superstition as fantasy
Attempted retreat from threatening/uncontrollable reality
Anxiety-reduction (Malinowski 1925)
Retaining feeling of control (Case et all2004)
The man under the sway of impotent
fury or dominated by thwarted hate
spontaneously clenches his fists andcarries out imaginary thrusts at hisenemy, muttering imprecations, casting
words of hatred and anger against him.
Malinowski Magic, Science, and
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3 views of superstition Superstition as rhetoric
Attempted communication Use of language to induce motion in
things (Burke 1969)
Costly signalling (Tambiah 1990)
Accepting authority (Palmer 1989)
By communicating acceptance of a
supernatural claim one is
communicating a willingness to acceptthe speakers influence unskeptically. -Palmer The ritual taboos of fishermen
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3 views of superstition Superstition as science
Attempt to understand/controlthe world
Primitive science (Frazer 1890)
Adventitious reinforcement(Skinner 1947)
Biased cognitive heuristics(Rozin & Nemeroff 1980)
Magic is a spurious system of naturallaw as well as a fallacious guide ofconduct; it is a false science as well as
an abortive art. - Frazer, Golden Bough
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Superstition as science?
Question of focusPrimitive science
Adventitiousreinforcement
Biased cognitiveheuristics
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Superstition as science? Question of focus
Superstitious beliefs vs. scientificbeliefs
Superstitious methods vs. scientificmethods
Both options incomplete Would superstitious beliefs be
scientific if arrived at scientifically?
Could they be arrived at scientifically?
Is there such a thing as magicalthinking?
Or is it that thinking sometimes leads tomagical beliefs?
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Superstition as science? Primitive science
Tylor 1871, Frazer 1890, Levy-Bruhl1910
Superstition identified with primitivesocieties/minds
Science identified with modernsocieties/minds
Progress seen as directed
evolution Enlightenment / Intellectualist
position
Rationality expels superstition
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Superstition as science? Adventitious reinforcement
B.F. Skinner 1947, S. Vyse 1997 Superstition in a pigeon
Skinner box
Operant conditioning
Independent reinforcement schedule
Superstitious behaviour
Operant conditioning isnot just for rats andpigeons - Vyse
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Superstition as science? Adventitious reinforcement
Matrix task 4 x 4 matrix
Move dot from top left tobottom right
Task: Find out when points are gained Points awarded randomly
Numerous theories put forward
Similar situations
Malfunctioning light switch
Conditioning as basis for understandingscience?
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Superstition as science? Biased cognitive heuristics
Domain-specific Generally effective
Systematically biased
Heuristics and biases (Kahneman &Tversky 1974)
Bounded rationality (H. Simon 1972)
Scientific methods as heuristics
(W. Wimsatt 2007)
Contagion heuristic
Rozin & Nemeroff 1980
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What is the difference?
Truth & empiricaladequacy
Natural vs.supernatural
Sacred vs. profane
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What is the difference? Truth & empirical adequacy
Superstitions as false causal beliefs Often used definition
Many false causal beliefs, some scientific
Superstitions not just false but (known
to be) empirically inadequate Scientific beliefs rejected due to empirical
inadequacy
Can not equate Newtons physics with his
astrology
Is onto something
But superstitious beliefs look different
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What is the difference? Natural vs. supernatural
Superstitions as supernatural claims Problems
Vague concept
Circularity?
Distinction much later than category
Correlation between superstitious andpseudoscientific beliefs
Succubi become aliens
Post hoc explanations
Is onto something
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What is the difference? Sacred vs. profane
Durkheim Explaining a cognitive category in terms
of a social phenomenon?
Is onto something
But, again, superstitions look different
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Empirical limits
van FraassenObservability &superstitions
Observability &
functions
Agnosticism aboutexplanations
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Empirical limits B. van Fraassen
The Scientific Image1980
Limits of observability Actual empirical limitations
Ability to discern small objects
Limits change over time Agnosticism about unobservable
claims
Challenging scientific attitudes
Observable/detectable distinction Distinction generally rejected
Is anything unobservable?
Significance of social attitudes
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Empirical limits Observability & superstitions
How observable are superstitiousclaims?
Connections between actions and
events
Observable as correlations
Explanations for the connections
The claims hard to observe
Attitudes object to observation Render superstitious explanations
effectively unobservable
Superempirical rather than supernatural
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Empirical limits Observability and functions
Manifest and latent function Manifest function requires observability
Religious connections unobservable
Latent (social) function more important In superstitions only explanations
unobservable
Scientists aim to make explanations
observable
A vital difference
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Empirical limits Agnosticism about explanations
Scientific explanations? Scientists take realist view of
explanations
Pursue evidence for their truth
Agnosticism not justified
Superstitious explanations
Explanations in practically untestable
terms
Testing of explanations discouraged
Agnosticism is not enough
A nosticism about ex lanations is
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ConclusionsSimilarities
Methods: Use ofheuristics
Beliefs: Often hardto test explanationsput forward
Differences
Methods:Development of newheuristics
Beliefs: A realistattitude to
explanations leadingto pursuit of testing
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Thank you
[email protected]://deisidaimon.wordpress.com