Introduction
Spirituality:
How is this an adaptive advantage for the survival of a species?
Spirituality définition:
Spirituality is someone's experience of a relationship with a fundamental, non-material aspect of the universe, expressing a connection to the present moment, to oneself, to others and to nature. It gives meaning to life.
A merge of definitions found in Neurobiology of Spirituality, Mens Sana Monogr. 2008 Jan-Dec; 6(1): 63–80. by E. Mohandas, M.D. and
on the web page What is Spirituality, Taking charge of your health and wellbeing, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing , University of Minnesota by Christina Puchalski, MD, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health.
This blog
Site of a community interested in discussing why spirituality might be a biological trait in the evolution of species and, among other things, how it might constitute an adaptive advantage for their survival.
For Who
Anyone concernedt:
- specialists in ethology, evolutionary biology, cognitive biology, neurobiology,
- specialists in physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering
- specialists in philosophy or psychology
- specialists in any other field of pure, human or social sciences
- anyone with an interest in the subject
People with no interest for this site:
- gurus and prophets
- religious extremists
- adherents of creationist and conspiracy theories
The author
I am Michel Vachon. I approach the subject through my own biases as a specialist in physics, aerospace engineering, management sciences and process optimization. Over the past few years, thanks to COVID, I've been able to devote a good deal of my time to upgrading my reading on the subject to the point of developing thoughts that I'd like to share with you and, I hope, enrich with your comments.
How to contribute
You could publish your comments and reference articles at the e-mail address below. If you would like me to inform you when a new article or comment is published, please let me know at the same address. Likewise, if you wish me to stop informing you:
I'll upload your material to the blog. This is the easiest way for me at the moment. Over time, more user-friendly ways will be tried out.
References
My reasoning about spirituality came after the reading of basic books such as On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin (1859) , The Story of the Human Body by Daniel E. Lieberman (2013), The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks (2017) and
Les secrets de l'intelligence animale by Yolaine de la Bigne (2018) .
These readings have been enriched through the reading of articles in journals such as Ethology and Animal Cognition Journal, Comparative Cognition Journal, Integrative & Comparative Biology Journal, Revue de Neuropsychologie, eNeuro, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Journal, Journal of Human Evolution, Evolution and Cognition Journal as well as Psychology Research and Behavior Management Journal. Articles from popular magazines such as The Scientist, National Geographic, Science& Vie, Sciences et Avenir, Hominidés and Cortex Mag were also consulted.
The content of my articles identifies the exact references being used. The word or words that lead you to the reference are italicized and highlighted in the text.
Tabs
- Introduction tab: Displays general information about the blog and presents the definition of spirituality, the base of my thinking process on the matter.
- EDV Framework Tab: Displays the model proposed as a logical framework to validate the reasoning presented in the various articles.
- Latest article tab: Displays the blog author's most recent publication.
- Community tab: Displays comments received on the most recent article.
- Previous articles tab: Displays all previously published articles and comments.