2018
Ritualized Behavior across Disciplines: From Ethology to Religious Studies
LANG, MartinBasic information
Original name
Ritualized Behavior across Disciplines: From Ethology to Religious Studies
Authors
Edition
Religious Ritual in an Interdisciplinary Perspective, 2018
Other information
Language
English
Type of outcome
Presentations at conferences
Field of Study
60304 Religious studies
Country of publisher
Czech Republic
Confidentiality degree
is not subject to a state or trade secret
References:
Organization unit
Faculty of Arts
Keywords in English
ritual, anxiety, behavior, religion, ethology, predictive coding
Tags
International impact
Changed: 26/4/2019 22:05, doc. Mgr. Martin Lang, Ph.D.
Abstract
In the original language
While the appearance of ritual behavior in the archaeological record can be traced back to first ritual burials, I will argue that its evolutionary roots are much deeper. That is, I will argue that humans share certain aspects of rituals (denoted as ritualized behavior) with other members of the Hominid family, and that these ritual features are common also to other mammals due to the shared principles of the mammalian cognitive architecture. Understanding of the evolution and functioning of this cognitive architecture can help us explain why we observe ritualized behavior in various contexts such religious ceremonies, sports, pathological gambling, or psychological disorders. As a case in point for the talk will serve the relationship between ritualized behavior and uncertainty, which is often manifested in anxiogenic states motivating the organism to stereotypical, overcautious actions. I will present empirical research disentangling the complex relationship between anxiety and ritualized behavior, focusing on the combination of laboratory and field experimental methods.
Links
| EE2.3.20.0048, research and development project |
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