Why do humans engage in ineffective technological practices such as magic and divination? In this talk, I lay out a research program for understanding the persistence of such practices from cognitive and cultural evolutionary perspectives. I argue that 1) ultimately, these practices can be viewed as by-products of cultural evolution, and 2) proximately, a number of psychological and social factors contribute to the overestimation of the efficacy of these practices. I will use historical data from imperial China and field observations among the Yi in southwest China as case studies to illustrate how individuals update their belief regarding the efficacy of some technology and how various biasing factors affect the information transmission channels. Finally, I offer a few suggestions regarding how modern societies differ from traditional ones epistemically (short answer: modern societies have more reliable epistemic institutions).
Kevin (Ze) Hong is an behavioral scientist who studies human behavior and culture from evolutionary and cognitive perspectives. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Biology from Grinnell College, a master's degree in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Hong has extensive experience in evolutionary theory, evolutionary psychology, evolutionary anthropology/gene-culture coevolution, and cognitive science. Research-wise, He uses methodologically diverse approaches (e.g., theoretical modeling, quantitative analysis of historical data, ethnographic fieldwork) to study human behavior and culture, with special attention paid to information processing at the individual level and information transmission at the population level. His publication appears in diverse journal venues such as Current Anthropology, Human Nature, Human Ecology, Religion, Brain & Behavior, Journal of Theoretical Biology, and Cognitive Science. His current field sites include the Yi in southwest China and the Wa in China-Burma border where he focuses on the psychological and social factors that sustain divination and magic practices.
Remarks
- ZOOM link will be sent via email, for HKUST members ONLY
- Please use your HKUST ITSC account to join the zoom meeting.
- This meeting is being recorded. By joining, you are giving consent for this meeting to be recorded.