Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Hum Nat. 2013 Jun;24(2):158-81. doi: 10.1007/s12110-013-9164-1.
This paper proposes an interdisciplinary explanation of the cross-cultural similarities and evolutionary patterns of witchcraft beliefs. It argues that human social dilemmas have led to the evolution of a fear system that is sensitive to signs of deceit and envy. This was adapted in the evolutionary environment of small foraging bands but became overstimulated by the consequences of the Agricultural Revolution, leading to witch paranoia. State formation, civilization, and economic development abated the fear of witches and replaced it in part with more collectivist forms of social paranoia. However, demographic-economic crises could rekindle fear of witches-resulting, for example, in the witch craze of early modern Europe. The Industrial Revolution broke the Malthusian shackles, but modern economic growth requires agricultural development as a starting point. In sub-Saharan Africa, witch paranoia has resurged because the conditions for agricultural development are lacking, leading to fighting for opportunities and an erosion of intergenerational reciprocity.
本文提出了一个跨学科的解释，说明巫术信仰的跨文化相似性和进化模式。它认为，人类的社会困境导致了一种对欺骗和嫉妒迹象敏感的恐惧系统的进化。这种恐惧系统在小型狩猎采集群体的进化环境中得到了适应，但由于农业革命的后果而过度刺激，导致了对女巫的偏执。国家形成、文明和经济发展减轻了对女巫的恐惧，并用更具集体主义形式的社会偏执来部分取代它。然而，人口经济危机可能会重新引发对女巫的恐惧，例如，在早期现代欧洲的女巫狂热中就出现了这种情况。工业革命打破了马尔萨斯的枷锁，但现代经济增长需要以农业发展为起点。在撒哈拉以南非洲，对女巫的偏执重新抬头，因为缺乏农业发展的条件，导致争夺机会和代际互惠关系的侵蚀。
