The Emergence of Religion

2019 ◽  
pp. 66-93
Author(s):  
Gavin Flood
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Human Biology ◽  
Social Emotions ◽  
Communicative Practices ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Communicative Practice ◽  
Self Repair ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Biological Reductionism

The communicative practices that comprise religions have their roots in human niche construction. But this is not a cognitivist argument that locates religion in particular regions of the brain, or a naturalist, biological reductionism that maintains the hegemony of the genes; rather, it contends that forms of communicative practice that are constitutive of religions, while being rooted in human biology, function at a cultural level that has autonomy from the cellular. Religions are niche constructions that create worlds of meaning through imagination within which people can live complete and competent lives and that function eschatologically to facilitate self-repair; their roots are in the pro-social emotions, language development, and ritual behaviour.

scholarly journals Historical Ecology of Scandinavian Infield Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 817
Author(s):  
Ove Eriksson ◽  
Matilda Arnell ◽  
Karl-Johan Lindholm
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Land Reforms ◽  
Hay Meadows ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
The 19Th Century

Infield systems originated during the early Iron Age and existed until the 19th century, although passing many transitions and changes. The core features of infield systems were enclosed infields with hay-meadows and crop fields, and unenclosed outland mainly used for livestock grazing. We examine the transitions and changes of domesticated landscapes with infield systems using the framework of human niche construction, focusing on reciprocal causation affecting change in both culture and environment. A first major transition occurred during the early Middle Ages, as a combined effect of a growing elite society and an increased availability of iron promoted expansion of villages with partly communal infields. A second major transition occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries, due to a then recognized inefficiency of agricultural production, leading to land reforms. In outlands, there was a continuous expansion of management throughout the whole period. Even though external factors had significant impacts as well, human niche construction affected a range of cultural and environmental features regarding the management and structure of domesticated landscapes with infield systems. Thus, niche construction theory is a useful framework for understanding the historical ecology of infield systems.

scholarly journals Human niche construction in interdisciplinary focus

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1566) ◽  
pp. 785-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Kendal ◽  
Jamshid J. Tehrani ◽  
John Odling-Smee
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Causal Process ◽  
Genetic Inheritance ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Ecological Inheritance ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
The Social

Niche construction is an endogenous causal process in evolution, reciprocal to the causal process of natural selection. It works by adding ecological inheritance , comprising the inheritance of natural selection pressures previously modified by niche construction, to genetic inheritance in evolution. Human niche construction modifies selection pressures in environments in ways that affect both human evolution, and the evolution of other species. Human ecological inheritance is exceptionally potent because it includes the social transmission and inheritance of cultural knowledge, and material culture. Human genetic inheritance in combination with human cultural inheritance thus provides a basis for gene–culture coevolution, and multivariate dynamics in cultural evolution. Niche construction theory potentially integrates the biological and social aspects of the human sciences. We elaborate on these processes, and provide brief introductions to each of the papers published in this theme issue.

scholarly journals Human impacts on the environment and wildlife in California’s past: Lessons from California archaeology

2021 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-319
Author(s):  
Julia Renee Prince-Buitenhuys ◽  
Colleen M. Cheverko ◽  
Eric J. Bartelink ◽  
Veronica Wunderlich ◽  
Kristina Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Central California ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Ecological Baselines

The long history of human-animal interactions in California prior to European contact is frequently not considered when setting ecological baselines and, by consequence, when planning conservation and management expectations and strategies for native species. This article reviews archaeological perspectives that explore the relationship between human niche construction, plant and wildlife populations, and human health in pre-European contact Central California, with an emphasis on the Central Valley and Delta, the surrounding foothills, and the San Francisco Bay Area. A summary of the archaeological record for Central California is provided, along with how niche construction and related evolutionary based models have been used in prehistoric California. Examples of the influences of human niche construction on flora, fauna, and human health from the archaeological and ethnographic record are then discussed. This information is tied to modern wildlife research and management practices that would serve contemporary fish and wildlife management given that human influences on species “natural” habitats and ecological baselines extends much further into the past than current ecological baselines and wildlife management strategies traditionally recognize.

Reflections on Integration by a Biopsychologist

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherwood O. Cole
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Clinical Integration ◽  
Neurological Processes ◽  
Heterosexual Sex ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Biological Reductionism

From the vantage point of an outsider, it has been observed that most attempts at clinical integration focus on psychological and theological issues while avoiding considerations of biological influences. Two examples (homosexuality and heterosexual sex offenses) are given as a demonstration of how the inclusion of biological considerations improve the quality of integrative activity. While not having a natural affinity for biological explanations, clinical colleagues are, nevertheless, challenged to expand their view of integration to include biological dimensions. Further suggested guidelines for including biological interests in integration include (a) the human brain and mind constitute an example par excellence of God's creative purpose in human life; (b) God has chosen the physical processes of the brain/mind as a vehicle for expressing Christian experiences; and (c) problems having their source in the spiritual realm can influence neurological processes just as much as can psychological factors. Cautionary notes are offered regarding the dangers of biological reductionism and determinism to the process of integration. Finally, it is concluded that this perspective on integration is based upon a Christian world view and that all data-base sources must undergo the same degree of critical examination.

scholarly journals Self- and Other-Repairs in Child-Adult Interaction: A Case Study of a Pair of Persian-Speaking Twins

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Leily Ziglari ◽  
Burhan Ozfidan ◽  
Quentin Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Children's Home ◽  
Self Repair ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Twenty-five years ago, Schegloff (1989) proposed that repair is the most crucial factor in understanding the nature of language development. By observing and examining the repairs children make, not only can we understand repair organization, but also children language development and cognitive stage. Research in syntactic structure of repair, self-initiated self-repair (SISR) or other-repair have gained enough attention in recent years through the works of Forrester (2008), Radford (2008), and Morgenstern, Leroy, &amp; Caef (2013). Some studies analyzed both self-repair and other-repair (Morgenstern et al., 2013; Salonen &amp; Laakso, 2009; Forrester, 2008), whereas a few other studies analyzed only other-repairs from the perspective of parents (Huang, 2011). There are many studies done regarding the incidence of self-repair over other-repair (Schegloff et al., 1977); the relationship between repair and turn (Schegloff, 1988); corrective feedback (Laakso &amp; Soininen, 2010); other-repetition (Huang, 2011); and adult’s self-repair (Laakso &amp; Sorjonen, 2010). However, there is some inconsistency in their findings. The data for this study comprised four video-recorded adult-child interactions at a children’s home in various interactional activities (role-play, short story, or watching cartoons. The purpose of this study is to examine the incidence of self- and other-repairs in the language acquisition process of Persian children and to investigate if there is a relationship between child’s self-repair and adult’s other-repair.</p>

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