Supernatural Explanations Research Articles

Some Comments on Early Arab "Wonders and Marvels" Literature

This study discusses copious early Arab literature of "wonders and marvels". The authors of such books found their materials in the Muslim religion, in the ancient Arab heritage and in strange facts about other cultures. The study examines the themes addressed by these works, including magic, fantasy, strange customs, curiosities, humor, the absurd, mockery, nightly chats, puzzles, riddles, rebuke, satire, defamation, battles, animals, angels, demons, etc. Composers of "wonders and marvels" books chose rhyming names for their works in order to attract the reader. The study found that the popularity of such books was due to the fact that certain phenomena and customs were perceived as incomprehensible by Arabs, who therefore sought transcendental or supernatural explanations, giving free rein to their imagination. Some books of this genre were apt to arouse fear in the reader and the oft-repeated stories in them were eventually believed by many and became means for realizing Arabs' desires and dreams. The study found that at first such books were perceived with scorn, as collections of superstitions and myths, and were therefore popular mainly among the lower classes. Because the genre did not attract the interest of the more educated, its scholarly study was neglected for a long time.

Supernatural Attributions for Extraordinary Events: Examining Cognitive and Contextual Predictors

AbstractWhy do people make supernatural attributions (SA) for events? This article focused on five possible predictors: stressfulness, unusual events, religiousness, seeing a supernatural explanation as meaningful, and seeing supernatural entities as powerful. We also predicted that people would be more likely to adopt supernatural explanations seen as highly accessible, motivating, and plausible. We focused primarily on SA in general and secondarily on specific entities. We tested preregistered hypotheses using survey data in two samples of undergraduates: one reporting life‐changing events (N = 594) and another reporting on an event with a supernatural air, or supernaturally perceived events (N = 475). Results supported all proposed predictors except for stressfulness. Path analyses revealed that, in both samples, predictors were linked with seeing supernatural explanations as accessible, plausible, and motivating; these ratings, in turn, had positive associations with SA. These results begin to integrate previous theory and research on individual predictors of SA.

Supernatural Belief in ‘Scientific’ Worldviews?

Abstract A ‘scientific worldview’ is commonly seen as contradictory to belief in supernatural forces, and there is little research on the supernatural beliefs of individuals who identify with science. In this article, we investigate the supernatural explanations of science-oriented individuals in domains of fundamental concern (suffering, death, and origins), and how supernatural causality is reconciled with belief in science. The open-ended responses of 387 Finns were analysed. The results show that science-oriented Finns endorsed both religion-related and more secular supernatural beliefs (such as belief in evolution as a purposeful process). Following the coexistence model, science-oriented Finns applied synthetic and target-dependent reasoning. In addition, many who invoked supernatural explanations integrated supernatural causality with science. Two forms of integrated reasoning were found: 1) supernatural agency as the ultimate cause and scientific theory as the proximate cause, and 2) a similarity-based heuristic, as seen in afterlife beliefs appealing to the law of conservation of energy.

The role played by taboos in exposing women to maternal mortality in Binga, Zimbabwe

Taboos are prohibited behaviours that have supernatural explanations, they affect women during pregnancy, childbirth and during the lactation period, resulting in high maternal mortality rates. The objectives of this study were to explore cultural taboos that expose women to maternal mortality and to examine the role of taboos in maternal health care. The study employed a qualitative research approach, making use of focus group discussions, and key informant interviews as data collection methods. Twelve (12) focus group discussions consisting of 6-12 people were conveniently sampled from villages in ward 1 Binga. The study found out that food taboos like prohibited starchy foods, protein meats exposed pregnant women to malnutrition and health complications. Cultural taboos delayed pregnant women from accessing maternal health care. Cultural taboos like bidding farewell to pregnant women and being escorted by pregnant women when leaving their homestead, limited pregnant women’s chances of getting transport assistance from neighbours and friends. On the other hand the study found out that taboos had cultural significance in Binga hence why women adhered to them. It can thus be concluded that taboos should be well known beyond the current body of knowledge if maternal mortality rates are to decline in Zimbabwe. They should be critically analysed and unpacked to decipher the content of the knowledge within them from an Afro centric perspective and a conventional point of view. Finally, the study recommends the need for appropriate strategies to disseminate information of taboos that contribute to maternal mortality and reinforcing taboos that preserve our cultural heritage. How to cite this article using ASWNet style Zinyemba, L. (2023). The role played by taboos in exposing women to maternal mortality in Binga, Zimbabwe. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 8(4), 113-120. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v8i4.3 Visit journal website: https://jda.africasocialwork.net

A HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SCIENCE WORKS

From Socrates onwards, the Greek cultural life began to take shape, and the whole nature of philosophical and scientific thought also began to change. From the natural sciences, interest shifted towards man and his societal role. Starting with the Sophists, a critical look at the surviving myths became pivotal at the time. Even if humans are still unable to get answers to all the riddles of nature, for which, among other things, mythology offers supernatural explanations, we (as human beings) do realize that we are only human. And humans need to learn to live together in different forms of social life. The Sophists were interested in man and his place in society. Socrates used conversations and tried to help his interlocutors generate valid reasoning and knowledge. According to him, proper knowledge must arise inside the individual, which is today's constructivist approach; no one can instill knowledge in the individual from the outside. Only knowledge that comes from within is true understanding. Socrates also wanted to find a solid basis for human knowledge. He believed he had found it in human reason.

The Jersey Devil: Examining a Phenomenon Obscured by Myth

This descriptive study delves into the enigmatic nature of the “Jersey Devil,” an enduring legend of a cryptid from New Jersey (USA) while acknowledging its historical and folklore roots. The absence of tangible evidence regarding the alleged creature’s existence has often prompted explorations into metaphysical and supernatural explanations. Accordingly, three sets of theories about the creature’s origin are considered: terrestrial, interdimensional, and extraterrestrial. Events associated with the Jersey Devil compare well to, and might be linked with, documented flurries of accounts involving cryptids, UFOs, and high strangeness at alleged “paranormal” hotspots like Skinwalker Ranch in Utah and Point Pleasant in West Virginia. Caution is needed when considering esoteric theories, but the consistency of sightings over time might argue for the possibility of interdimensional or extraterrestrial entities. Finally, the paper discusses the notion of the Jersey Devil phenomenon serving as a control mechanism or a means of instilling fear of the unknown.

Theopsych: A Psychological Science Primer for Theologians

Theopsych: A Psychological Science Primer for Theologians

Quantum cognition and interpretation of the fantastic in Virginia Hamilton’s Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush

Abstract Fantasy requires a probabilistic theory of reasoning to explore how it enables the observer to create mental images from uncertainty. This study proposes a quantum cognitive approach to fantasy used for disclosing mental models of the character in uncertainty. For the uncertain individual, there exists a multiplicity of mentally incompatible but equally valid and complete representations (mental pictures) of the world. Contextualizing fantasy within the quantum cognitive principles, the novel Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush (1982) by Virginia Hamilton has been taken into consideration. In this novel the hesitation between psychological and supernatural explanations interrupts the predictive power about the real and affects mental models or cognitive states of the young character of the novel as the observer. The process of representing fantasy through complementarity, one of the quantum cognitive principles, shows that fantasy is a mixed state with a familiar probabilistic combination of states which reflect incomplete knowledge. The quantum principle of superposition has been used to explain the way an introspective mental experiment is initiated by the observer but not completed. The decision made by the observer is not a deterministic process that converges to a single mental representation. Rather it can evolve forever. To sum up, this article marks how quantum cognition can describe the uncertainty principle both on an emotional-behavioural and structural level when the observer entangles themselves within the irreducible indeterminacy of reality within fantasy.

From the real to the supernatural: the fantastic in the Incidente em Antares book by Érico Verissimo

This article proposes to reflect about the influence of the Fantastic Realism in Érico Verissimo's Incidente em Antares. To this end, the two necessary conditions are considered, according to TODOROV (1975), for the existence of the fantastic: first, the text must lead the reader to consider the world of characters as a world of living creatures and to hesitate between a natural explanation and a supernatural explanation of the fact; Second, the reader's hesitation must be identified with a particular character, so that the reader's perception is inscribed in the text as precisely as the character's movements are. The fantastic, in Verissimo's narrative, becomes relevant due to the historical context, its characteristics and its purpose. The fantastic is born in this uncertainty: to choose one or the other answer to the events narrated. This paper aims to present the origin of Fantastic Realism and its contributions in the work, identify its structure, in order to prove the relevance of the historical period for the establishment, given that it is established as a result of dictatorial periods,merging the real and the imaginary.

Supernatural explanations across 114 societies are more common for natural than social phenomena.

Humans across the globe use supernatural beliefs to explain the world around them. This article explores whether cultural groups invoke the supernatural more to explain natural phenomena (for example, storms, disease outbreaks) or social phenomena (for example, murder, warfare). Quantitative analysis of ethnographic text across 114 geographically and culturally diverse societies found that supernatural explanations are more prevalent for natural than for social phenomena, consistent with theories that ground the origin of religious belief in a human tendency to perceive intent and agency in the natural world. Despite the dominance of supernatural explanations of natural phenomena, supernatural explanations of social phenomena were especially prevalent in urbanized societies with more socially complex and anonymous groups. Our results show how people use supernatural beliefs as explanatory tools in non-industrial societies, and how these applications vary across small-scale communities versus large and urbanized groups.

Expressivism, Pluralism, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “A Suggestion on the Negro Problem”

Expressivism, Pluralism, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “A Suggestion on the Negro Problem”

Magical Hyperrealism: A Reading of Orbitor through Magical Realism and Maximalism

In this stylistic study I propose a reading of Orbitor [Blinding] through two literary modes: magical realism and maximalism, as Mircea Cărtărescu’s trilogy contains elements that fit into both literary modes, albeit with some differences. Such a reading would allow the formulation of the term magical hyperrealism as a new literary mode. The understanding of magical realism is based on three features: authorial reticence, amplification of reality through “faith” and social comprehension. Regarding authorial reticence, Beatrice Amaryll Chanady compares magical realism with the fantastic as defined by T. Todorov. Unlike the fantastic, which creates doubt between a real or a supernatural explanation for unlikely events, magical realism allows the ordinary and the marvelous to coexist as two components of a harmonious reality that is given without explanation (authorial reticence). The amplification of reality through faith in the marvelous and the social comprehension of the marvelous are concepts based on Alejo Carpentier’s lo real maravilloso. In Orbitor all of these features appear in many episodes, although unlike traditional magical realism, faith in the marvelous is expressed through personal-intellectual convictions rather than social-collective beliefs. As for maximalism, Orbitor fulfills most of the ten characteristics of this genre as defined by Stefano Ercolino. The main difference is point 10: “hybrid realism.” In this case, maximalism usually distorts reality for representational purposes, but Orbitor distorts it for purely literary purposes or for a psychic-subjective exploration of the author. From comparing Orbitor with both literary modes, magical hyperrealism as a literary mode is defined as follows: a totalizing-encyclopedic vision of reality that, with authorial reticence, harmonizes the real and the marvelous through a strong faith. Some applications and future possibilities are discussed in the conclusions.

All Models Are Wrong, and Some Are Religious: Supernatural Explanations as Abstract and Useful Falsehoods about Complex Realities.

Many cognitive and evolutionary theories of religion argue that supernatural explanations are byproducts of our cognitive adaptations. An influential argument states that our supernatural explanations result from a tendency to generate anthropomorphic explanations, and that this tendency is a byproduct of an error management strategy because agents tend to be associated with especially high fitness costs. We propose instead that anthropomorphic and other supernatural explanations result as features of a broader toolkit of well-designed cognitive adaptations, which are designed for explaining the abstract and causal structure of complex, unobservable, and uncertain phenomena that have substantial impacts on fitness. Specifically, we argue that (1) mental representations about the abstract vs. the supernatural are largely overlapping, if not identical, and (2) when the data-generating processes for scarce and ambiguous observations are complex and opaque, a naive observer can improve a bias-variance trade-off by starting with a simple, underspecified explanation that Western observers readily interpret as "supernatural." We then argue that (3) in many cases, knowledge specialists across cultures offer pragmatic services that involve apparently supernatural explanations, and their clients are frequently willing to pay them in a market for useful and effective services. We propose that at least some ethnographic descriptions of religion might actually reflect ordinary and adaptive responses to novel problems such as illnesses and natural disasters, where knowledge specialists possess and apply the best available explanations about phenomena that would otherwise be completely mysterious and unpredictable.

The Water Horses of Loch Ness by Roland Watson

In The Water Horses of Loch Ness, Roland Watson presents a significant and original contribution to methods for evaluating and interpreting traditional stories and folklore. Are Nessies real animals, or are they an entrepreneurial tourist trap capitalizing on folklore? Or are they perhaps supernatural entities? Each of those hypotheses has its adherents, and they each offer evidence. Most cryptozoologists pursue the real-animals hypothesis. However, a British novelist and former PR executive confessed to inventing the creatures to help the hotel industry (Bauer, 1986: 3-4), and an Italian journalist later claimed, separately and independently, to have invented the creatures [2]. Ted Holiday (1973), among others, envisaged a supernatural explanation. In any event, it surely seems relevant that Scots folklore features such creatures as Water Horses, Water Bulls, Water Kelpies, to which are attributed a variety of characteristics. But relevant in what way? How to assess what lies at the root of this folklore?

On the rationality of semi-secular simultaneity: a non-doxastic interpretation of the seemingly inconsistent worldviews of some Swedish ‘nones’

AbstractProponents of religious non-doxasticism standardly aim to show how a commitment to traditional religion can be rational in the absence of religious belief. We demonstrate how the non-doxastic framework can be given a much wider application. In a study on Swedish semi-secularity, sociologist Ann af Burén has discovered a pattern where subjects simultaneously entertain naturalistic and supernatural explanations of extraordinary events. We reject Burén's interpretation of these people as irrational and compartmentalized and offer a contrasting non-doxastic reading in which the subjects involved are fully rational in their belief-less engagement with significant supernatural possibilities.

The God of Big (And Good) Things: Religious Priming, Event Properties, and Supernatural Explanations

ABSTRACT Humans have a pervasive tendency to make causal attributions when attempting to explain life events. While causality is often attributed to naturalistic forces, such as the agency of individuals or situational factors, many individuals – particularly those who hold religious or spiritual beliefs – invoke supernatural explanations that ascribe causation to invisible forces or agents such as God(s), fate, or karma. The present research sought to clarify conflicting findings regarding the types of events that tend to elicit supernatural explanations, and to investigate whether reminders of religion exerts a causal effect on these tendencies using priming methodologies. Over two studies (N = 119; N = 121), we observed a consistently greater tendency to invoke supernatural explanations of various kinds when event outcomes were serious and positive. A significant influence of religious priming was observed only for one type of supernatural explanation in Study 1, while inconsistent interactions between valence and seriousness were also observed. These findings are consistent with the notions of “God-of-the-gaps” and God-serving attributional biases, although evidence for a causal influence of reminders of religion on these processes remains inconclusive.

Traditional healers' explanatory models of intellectual disability in Cape Town.

While intellectual disability is experienced worldwide, with much greater rates in contexts of poverty, relatively few studies on intellectual disability have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries. High levels of intellectual disability in South Africa exist alongside high levels of poverty, malnutrition and poor or inaccessible healthcare services. The lack of access to services partly explains why many turn to traditional healers. Within this context there is very limited research on the role that traditional healers play in relation to intellectual disability in South Africa. The current study investigated traditional healers' understanding and beliefs about intellectual disabilities and the treatment modalities that they use. An exploratory qualitative research design was used to examine the views and perspectives of traditional healers on intellectual disability. Fifteen traditional healers participated in the study. Key findings show that the naming of and the terminology used to describe and identify intellectual disability are very much similar to what has been observed in African cultures in general where intellectual disability is identified as an abnormality. Some traditional healers located the presentation of intellectual disability within the biomedical sphere while others gave supernatural explanations for how intellectual disability presents in children and for its causes. All traditional healers expressed a willingness to work with the Western formal healthcare system. Findings on traditional healers' views on future collaborations with the formal health system provide opportunities for these two forms of healthcare services to be synergised for the strengthening and improvement of services provided to children with intellectual disability and their families.

La interrupción del embarazo en comunidades tzotziles y tzeltales de los Altos de Chiapas

The article addresses the issue of pregnancy termination in the Tzotzil and Tzeltal communities of the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The analysis of norms, practices and meanings related to pregnancy termination is based on the compilation of information from existing ethnographic studies and on the results of interviews conducted in the period November 2018-January 2019. In the patriarchal order of Chiapas communities, abortion is considered outlawed. However, the concept of pregnancy that starts when the woman begins to feel the movement of the foetus, as well as the notion of congelo or menstrual delay reveals a perspective of the woman elaborated from the body, which admits intervention to provoke bleeding. Furthermore, it is hypothesised that supernatural explanations of pregnancy termination have been used by women to free themselves from the control imposed on female sexuality.

Development of a Semi-Structured Instrument to Assess Religious Beliefs and Practices in Patients with Schizophrenia

Background:Religion plays an important role in the life of a large proportion of population. Various dimensions of religion and religiosity have not been thoroughly investigated in persons with schizophrenia. Aim: This study aimed to develop a simple instrument to assess various aspects of religiosity, which can influence the assessment and management of schizophrenia and evaluate the same in a group of patients, who are currently in clinical remission.Methodology:A simple semi-structured interview was developed to assess various dimensions of religion relevant to patients with mental illnesses. The questionnaire was administered to 100 patients with schizophrenia.Results:About two-thirds of the patients gave religious and supernatural explanations for their delusions, hallucinations, and other symptoms. More than three-fourth (78%) of patients reported that their religious beliefs influence their intake of the prescribed medications. The majority of the patients believed that God was helping them in dealing with their illness to some extent (29%) or very much (57%). About four-fifth (81%) of the patients attributed their illness to one religious or supernatural etiological cause. About two-fifths (39%) of the patients were first taken to a magico-religious faith healer at the onset of symptoms. In terms of treatment practices along with treatment from the tertiary care center, during the most recent relapse, the majority (82%) of the patients took recourse to at least one of the religious or supernatural modalities.Conclusion:The designed instrument provides a broad coverage of various aspects of religious practices which are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia. The use of this instrument in patients with schizophrenia suggests that religious beliefs and practices influence the type of psychopathology, etiological models about the illness, help seeking, and medication adherence.

Exploring mental illness attributions and treatment-seeking beliefs in a diverse Muslim-Australian sample

ABSTRACT Background and Purpose: Prior research has shown that Muslim individuals attribute cultural beliefs in explaining mental illness aetiology, which may impact help-seeking behaviours. However, little research has been conducted with Muslim-Australians, nor across different cultural groups within Muslim minority populations. This research explored relationships between ethnocultural identity, cultural attributions of mental illness, and treatment-seeking beliefs in a sample of 182 Muslim-Australians. Method: A multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between ethnocultural identity and cultural belief use, as measured by the Cultural Beliefs about Mental Health Problems (CBMHP) scale. Analyses examined differences in endorsement of specific beliefs across ethnocultural groups.Results: Muslim-Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds (Middle Eastern, European, Asian, and others) endorsed cultural beliefs more strongly than those from non-CALD, Anglo/Caucasian backgrounds. Both groups endorsed environmental and biological attributions for mental illness; however, supernatural explanations and both traditional/cultural treatments and Qur’anic recitation as effective psychological treatment methods were more strongly endorsed by CALD ethnocultural groups. Moreover, CALD Muslim-Australian respondents less strongly endorsed psychological counselling as effective. Findings also revealed differences in belief endorsement between ethnocultural groups. These findings provide insight into the intersection of culture with mental illness attributions and treatment-seeking behaviour. KEY POINTS Muslim-Australians appear to endorse biological and environmental explanations of mental illness to a similar extent, despite their ethnocultural identity; Muslim-Australians often employ cultural, religious, spiritual, and traditional attributions to explain mental illness aetiology; however, the extent to which Muslim-Australians use such attributions appears to differ depending on their ethnocultural background; Muslim-Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds appear to more strongly adhere to cultural and religious-based explanations of mental illness (including supernatural phenomena) and more strongly endorse the effectiveness of traditional/religious treatment methods for mental ill-health than Muslim-Australians with non-CALD, Anglo-Caucasian ethnocultural backgrounds. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of such beliefs and should provide culturally appropriate and safe treatment interventions when working with Muslim-Australians from CALD backgrounds.