2015/09/08 by Rachel E. Watson‐Jones, Justin T.A. Busch, Cristine H. Legare · 37 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cultural Differences and Values #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Anthropological Studies and Insights #Archipelago #Explanatory model #Epistemology #Context (archaeology) #Sociology #Explanatory power #Variation (astronomy) #Natural (archaeology) #Anthropology #Geography #Philosophy
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/tops.12162
published in Topics in Cognitive Science 7(4), 611-623 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2015/09/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/24
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.