Further Correspondences and Similarities of Shamanism and Cognitive Science: Mental Representation, Implicit Processing, and Cognitive Structures

Summary

Findings from cognitive science and shamanism show significant similarities in how mental representation functions. Visual images and spatial memory retain crucial information about physical principles and object behavior. The study discusses the role of implicit processes in shamanic cognition, suggesting that unconscious information may become conscious during shamanic experiences. Importantly, both cognitive science and shamanism support the existence of a cognitive module for social knowledge, indicating that shamanic and nonshamanic cognition may be fundamentally alike.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Properties of mental representation are related to findings in cognitive science and ideas in shamanism. A selective review of research in cognitive science suggests visual images and spatial memory preserve important functional information regarding physical principles and the behavior of objects in the natural world, and notions of second‐order isomorphism and the perceptual cycle developed to account for such findings are related to shamanic experience. Possible roles of implicit processes in shamanic cognition, and the idea that shamanic experience may involve normally unconscious information becoming temporarily available to consciousness, are considered. The existence of a cognitive module dedicated to processing information relevant to social knowledge and social interaction is consistent with cognitive science and with shamanism, and may help account for the extension of intentionality and meaning that characterize shamanic practice. Overall, findings from cognitive science and ideas from shamanism exhibit a number of correspondences and similarities regarding basic properties of cognition, and this suggests that shamanic and nonshamanic cognition may not be fundamentally different.