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

Properties of mental representation link cognitive science findings with shamanic ideas. Visual images and spatial memory preserve functional information about physical principles and object behavior, and concepts like second-order isomorphism and the perceptual cycle relate to shamanic experience. Implicit processes may play a role in shamanic cognition, where normally unconscious information becomes temporarily available to consciousness. A cognitive module for social knowledge and interaction aligns with both cognitive science and shamanism, potentially explaining the extension of intentionality and meaning in shamanic practice. Overall, correspondences suggest shamanic and nonshamanic cognition are not fundamentally different.

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.