increases the likelihood one will reach such solutions. All of the perspectives discussed in this book have been transformed through this process.
Background
In pursuing the tandem lines of inquiry of science and the humanities, the Network itself serves as an example of the human capacities and emergent processes that can derive from collective social structures and actions. In the chapters to follow, the Network examines the nature and power of unseen forces ranging from human co- regulation to physiological effects of spiritual beliefs. The exchanges across disciplinary perspectives suggest that the “dominion of the solitary individual” is insufficient to understand the human mind or to optimize human health and well being. To understand human nature and the human mind, one may need to appreciate human needs and capabilities that have not been given due attention.
Homo sapiens are a social species, which means there are emergent organizations beyond individuals that contribute to the ability of our species to survive, reproduce, and care for our offspring sufficiently long that they too survive to reproduce. As a consequence, evolutionary forces have sculpted neural, hormonal, and genetic mechanisms that support these social structures. Among the possible consequences explored in this book are that: 1) people are not the entirely self-interested, short-term thinking, rational decision makers assumed by the mythical creature, Homo economicus, and 2) some of the amorphous dissatisfaction and chronic diseases that characterize contemporary society may be, in part, the consequence of the denial of the differences between
Page |1l
the nature of these two beings. Existing scientific studies of religion have established the pervasiveness of religious beliefs and practices and an association between these beliefs or practices and physical as well as mental health. Religious beliefs and practices have also contributed to failures to heed life-saving medical advice and to the horrendous treatment of others. It will be through the serious investigation of such beliefs and practices, not through their denial, that we may ultimately be able to identify which aspects of these beliefs and practices are beneficial, for what individuals and in what contexts, and through what specific mechanisms.
Recent research has made it patently clear that William James (1890, p. 442, 2) underestimated the faculties of human infants when he suggested that their first sensory experiences were a “blooming, buzzing confusion.” But what James’ sentiment did capture is the overwhelming complexity and uncertainty that exists in the child’s environment, and the inherent difficulty in making sense of that complexity from scratch. Our drive to make meaning is irrepressible---and when we do not understand the forces that drive our actions, we invent narratives that make these invisible forces feel more predictable and understandable even if only in hindsight. But we do not do it alone.
Adults as well as children must explain the uncertainty and ambiguity of natural phenomena (calamities of weather, death and reproduction) as well as social phenomena (human agents) in order to operate effectively. But not all actions are perceived as being equivalent. Forces operating on objects to compel action, as when gravity causes rocks to slide down a mountain, are
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021257