Human behavior is a complicated and often unpredictable beast.
Societies often create their own social norms and hierarchies by which patrons
are expected to follow.
Accusations of witchcraft within a society are more common than
one might think in this day and age. Beyond that, a study cited by the
Scientific American shows that these accusations seem to arise independently
throughout the world, with strange commonalities. As an example, scientists in
the study found that societies often accuse "witches" of poisoning
food. "Witches" are often women, and the tag of "witchood"
is often passed through the female lineage. This tag separated
"witches" from the rest of their society, establishing social
hierarchy within it.
This strange human behavior of labeling and ostracizing members of
a community with a label that often defies logic begs a behavioral
neuroscientific question. How does the phenomenon begin?
A seminar given in mid-October at Loyola University Chicago was
titled "Subconscious Motivations - Free Will - Did my brain make me do
it?" posed the question of free will from a neuroscientific
perspective.
The seminar cited a study that claimed to prove that free will
doesn't exist. It claimed that all choices are preceded by an awareness of an
urge, which is preceded by a readiness potential. Furthermore, that all of
these things are visible as neuronal firings through fMRI.
In the small communities that accuse some women of being witches,
this study may indicate
that accusations of withchood are predetermined. Or, if you're superstitious,
the study hints that "witches" poison food in a predetermined way. Are
13% of women in 'small' communities witches?
I've always been a fan of Halloween, but for the sake of food
safety and my ability to sleep, I'd like to believe that this study falsely
defines what a 'choice' is, and therefore falsely defines the way humans
interact with one another in groups. While the study that claims to disprove
free will is a scientific one, and thus, a scientific discussion needs to be
had with regard to it, there is certainly room for a philosophical—or at least
psychological—debate. Such a claim is huge, and can surely be viewed as a
slippery slope argument that leads to conversation about the legitimacy of
witches.
What do you think? Is there a spooky correlation going on in small
communities around the world? Can it be explained neuroscientifically?
Scientific American:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-women-accused-of-witchcraft/
