Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Explanatory Coexistence.
Natural and supernatural explanations are used to interpret the same events in a number of predictable and universal ways. Yet little is known about how variation in diverse cultural ecologies influences how people integrate natural and supernatural explanations. Here, we examine explanatory coexistence in three existentially arousing domains of human thought: illness, death, and human origins using qualitative data from interviews conducted in Tanna, Vanuatu. Vanuatu, a Melanesian archipelago, provides a cultural context ideal for examining variation in explanatory coexistence due to the lack of industrialization and the relatively recent introduction of Christianity and Western education. We argue for the integration of interdisciplinary methodologies from cognitive science and anthropology to inform research on explanatory coexistence.
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin.
Rachel E
RE
Watson-Jones
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin.
Justin T A
JT
Busch
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin.
Cristine H
CH
Legare
D000328:Adult; D000883:Anthropology / Q000379:methods; D001519:Behavior; D015984:Causality; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D019336:Cognitive Science / Q000379:methods*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009514:Vanuatu; D055815:Young Adult
Causal explanation; Causal reasoning; Cognitive anthropology; Cognitive science; Cross-cultural studies; Explanatory coexistence; Supernatural cognition; Vanuatu