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Reposted by manvir singh

Eli Stark-Elster @eselster.bsky.social · 14d

New commentary out w/ @manvir.bsky.social
in Religion, Brain, and Behavior! We argue that social learning fails to explain three patterns in religious belief and practice: SBNR beliefs, strategic endorsement of beliefs, and religious experience. Check it out:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Strategy and experience required: Social learning cannot explain the varieties of supernatural belief

Published in Religion, Brain & Behavior (Ahead of Print, 2025)

www.tandfonline.com

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · 16d

Honored to have been interviewed for this week's issue of @currentbiology.bsky.social!

Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 16d

From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue.

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Manvir Singh

Interview with Manvir Singh, who studies the evolutionary and cognitive origins of human cultural behaviors at the University of California, Davis.

www.cell.com

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Reposted by manvir singh

Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 16d

From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue.

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Manvir Singh

Interview with Manvir Singh, who studies the evolutionary and cognitive origins of human cultural behaviors at the University of California, Davis.

www.cell.com

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UC Berkeley School of Information @berkeleyischool.bsky.social · 22d

Join us for the first lecture in our Cultural Analytics Talk Series, co-sponsored w/ @ucbids.bsky.social!

@manvir.bsky.social will discuss projects investigating global patterns in music & storytelling.

📅 Oct. 3, 12:15 - 1:30 pm
📍 210 South Hall, Online

www.ischool.berkeley.edu/events/2025/...

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · 29d

A reminder that the deadline for commentary proposals for my new BBS paper is tomorrow!

An honor of publishing with BBS is having thoughtful colleagues engage with one's work, and I can't wait to see y'all what think.

manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 25

Why do societies reliably develop strikingly similar traditions like dance songs, hero stories, shamanism & justice institutions?

In a new BBS target article, I propose a theory for such "super-attractors" + cultural evolution more broadly. Now open for commentary: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Sep 5

Details: www.hmnh.harvard.edu/event/shaman...

Shamanism: The Timeless Religion | Harvard Museum of Natural History

www.hmnh.harvard.edu

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Sep 5

I'm giving a free book talk next Wednesday at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Come by if you're in the Boston area!

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · Sep 4

‘One veteran shaman, returning from his first experience performing at a top-dollar eco-lodge, asked the ayahuasca researcher Stephan Beyer why these people had come halfway round the world to see him when they weren’t sick.’

@mikejay.bsky.social on shamanism: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Mike Jay · Priest of the Devil: On Shamanism

‘Shamanism’, as a concept, is of course a Western invention, and from the earliest cross-cultural encounters it was...

www.lrb.co.uk

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Sep 3

Thrilled to see this mammoth review of "Shamanism" in
@lrb.co.uk from master drug historian @mikejay.bsky.social!

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Mike Jay · Priest of the Devil: On Shamanism

‘Shamanism’, as a concept, is of course a Western invention, and from the earliest cross-cultural encounters it was...

www.lrb.co.uk

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 25

I've called this process "subjective selection" and argue that it drives much of cultural evolution, including the predictable development of these complex near-universal practices & beliefs.

Download: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Call for commentaries: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core

Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold

www.cambridge.org

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 25

The crux: For >100 yrs, functional explanations of culture have prioritized objective benefits (e.g., ritual X persists b/c it promotes cohesion). But this focus is misplaced. Traditions evolve foremost as people craft & retain traditions that appear to best satisfy their goals.

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 25

Why do societies reliably develop strikingly similar traditions like dance songs, hero stories, shamanism & justice institutions?

In a new BBS target article, I propose a theory for such "super-attractors" + cultural evolution more broadly. Now open for commentary: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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Reposted by manvir singh

Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · Aug 21

BBS just announced a call for commentaries on @manvir.bsky.social's target article, "Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold"
Deadline is Sep 10!
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Call for Commentary Proposals - Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the

Call for Commentary Proposals - Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold

www.cambridge.org

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 12

Thank you for reading the book! And for posting your thoughts about it. I'm glad that you've enjoyed it and found it useful.

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Kensy Cooperrider @kensycoop.bsky.social · Aug 7

Super fun having @manvir.bsky.social on the podcast (again)!

I strongly recommend his new book—especially if you like your non-fiction laced with personal narrative, quirky characters, & history of ideas.

Many Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · Aug 7

We often treat religion and shamanism as fundamentally different. But the two are deeply enmeshed, and a push and pull between them has played out repeatedly across history.

Just one of the topics discussed in latest episode, with @manvir.bsky.social!

Listen: disi.org/the-shaman-w...

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 3

Glad you enjoyed it!!

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Philip Bagley @pb102.bsky.social · Aug 1

I really enjoyed Manvir Singh's Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. Addictive listen and great mix of anthropology, history, and religion.

Book cover of Shamanism: The Timeless Religion by Manvir Singh

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Aug 1

Thank you, @kensycoop.bsky.social, for having me on! We had a great conversation about shamanism—its cognitive foundations, place in Paleolithic societies, role in Abrahamic religions, manifestations in industrialized societies (including hedge wizards), and much more.

Many Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · Aug 1

New episode!! 🎙️📣

A conversation with @manvir.bsky.social about the many faces of shamanism.

Shamanism is not a relic of the past or a curio from far-off lands—it's alive and well, all around the world. The roots of shamanism, after all, lie within us.

Listen: disi.org/the-shaman-w...

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Experimental Philosophy @xphilosopher.bsky.social · Jul 25

I loved this interview about shamanism with @manvir.bsky.social

It offers *such* a radically different perspective on why we see shamans all over the world entering altered states of consciousness that one might call "trance"

youtu.be/Ijf8cNBgztA @thedissenteryt.bsky.social

#362 Manvir Singh: Shamanism, Witchcraft, Religion, and Music

YouTube video by The Dissenter

youtu.be

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Suomen Kuvalehti @suomenkuvalehti.fi · Jul 20

Arvio: Shamaanit ja saarnaajat eivät ole kaukana toisistaan

suomenkuvalehti.fi

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New Scientist @newscientist.com · Jul 16

Shamanism is on the rise, both in practice and in popular culture. Manvir Singh has spent years exploring why it is so enduring, what we can learn from it and the surprising forms modern shamans take.

The anthropologist who says shamanism works, even if you don’t believe

Shamanism is on the rise, both in practice and in popular culture. Manvir Singh has spent years exploring why it is so enduring, what we can learn from it and the surprising forms modern shamans take

www.newscientist.com

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Jun 27

omg so cool

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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · Jun 23

My newest essay is about wearing a turban: what it means to me, what others assume about it, and why the most personally meaningful symbols can also feel the most burdensome. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Why I Wear the Turban

The headwear is burdened by stereotypes—but it can carry, too, the pleasures of self-invention.

www.newyorker.com

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Reposted by manvir singh

Michael Pollan @michaelpollan.bsky.social · Jun 16

(23) Shamanism and psychedelics: 5 Questions for Manvir Singh themicrodose.substack.com/p/shamanism-...

Shamanism and psychedelics: 5 Questions for Manvir Singh

Singh discusses convergences between shamanism and psychedelics, and their role in modern spirituality.

themicrodose.substack.com

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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Jun 21

According to one study, nearly 80 per cent of Sikh boys with head coverings in the U.S. report being bullied. Manvir Singh writes about why he wears a turban.

Why I Wear the Turban

The headwear is burdened by stereotypes—but it can carry, too, the pleasures of self-invention.

www.newyorker.com

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