Smyslová deprivace a evoluce náboženských praktik
| Title in English | Sensory deprivation and the evolution of religious practices |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Religious or spiritual practices that use sensory (especially visual) deprivation to induce specific sensory experiences are encountered across time and cultures. But how did these practices originate in the first place, and why did they become established in human societies? In this paper I will focus on a theoretical summary of the ecological, psychological and social conditions that allowed humans and our direct ancestors to use sensory deprivation to induce special sensory experiences (involving contact with spiritual beings, forces and worlds). A key adaptive function that enabled the cultural establishment of these practices and mitigated their costliness was probably the reduction of uncertainty about uncontrollable events in everyday life (e.g., hunting, animal reproduction, disease, etc.). These theoretical assumptions are supported by data from two experimental and one qualitative study showing that, in the context of sensory deprivation or uncluttered environments, (a) uncertainty and expectation are significant predictors of feelings of the presence of other beings, (b) overcoming discomfort and uncertainty during spiritual practices using sensory deprivation (called darkness therapy) allow practitioners to experience culturally shared contents as subjectively real and use them to obtain subjectively perceived benefits (e.g., healing, gaining a sense of control over a major life change). |
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