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What makes some cultures particularly susceptible to see things that others do not see : the case of the Muslim World
pareidolia
Muslim World
apophenia
conspiracy theories
clustering illusion
Human beings evince a natural tendency to perceive patterns like faces, figures or shapes in otherwise random phenomena. This well-known psychological phenomenon called "pareidolia", "apophenia" or "clustering illusion" (depending on what we refer to) has a convincing evolutionary explanation. As a universal phenomenon it is therefore part of our human nature, although different cultural and/or religious factors can influence or even determine the sensitivity to detect hidden signs and patterns. The present paper deals with such phenomena with regard to Islam and the Muslim culture, since the Muslim World produces the most notable examples of them. Again and again we find there recurrent cases of seeing things that others do not see. Muslims decode cryptic meanings in trademarks and logograms, decipher hidden messages contained in mundane objects, identify Quranic words or phrases in natural occurrences. In the present paper I argue that this is not a coincidence. Islam and the Muslim culture are two particularly vivid instances of interweaving factors leading to pareidolia and apophenia because there are certain religious, cultural and, last but not least, political factors contained in them that contribute to the phenomena. They do not only amplify the individual sensitivity to illusory corellation, but also produce the social readiness to look for them. Identifying these factors can help us to understand both the culture of Islam in particular as well as the way the human mind works in general.
dc.abstract.en | Human beings evince a natural tendency to perceive patterns like faces, figures or shapes in otherwise random phenomena. This well-known psychological phenomenon called "pareidolia", "apophenia" or "clustering illusion" (depending on what we refer to) has a convincing evolutionary explanation. As a universal phenomenon it is therefore part of our human nature, although different cultural and/or religious factors can influence or even determine the sensitivity to detect hidden signs and patterns. The present paper deals with such phenomena with regard to Islam and the Muslim culture, since the Muslim World produces the most notable examples of them. Again and again we find there recurrent cases of seeing things that others do not see. Muslims decode cryptic meanings in trademarks and logograms, decipher hidden messages contained in mundane objects, identify Quranic words or phrases in natural occurrences. In the present paper I argue that this is not a coincidence. Islam and the Muslim culture are two particularly vivid instances of interweaving factors leading to pareidolia and apophenia because there are certain religious, cultural and, last but not least, political factors contained in them that contribute to the phenomena. They do not only amplify the individual sensitivity to illusory corellation, but also produce the social readiness to look for them. Identifying these factors can help us to understand both the culture of Islam in particular as well as the way the human mind works in general. | pl |
dc.affiliation | Wydział Filologiczny : Instytut Orientalistyki | pl |
dc.conference | 5th SGEM International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts | pl |
dc.conference.city | Wiedeń | |
dc.conference.country | Austria | |
dc.conference.datefinish | 2018-03-21 | |
dc.conference.datestart | 2018-03-19 | |
dc.conference.weblink | https://www.sgemsocial.org/index.php/peer-review/impact-factor-2 | pl |
dc.contributor.author | Nasalski, Ignacy - 130886 | pl |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-11-20T13:58:13Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-11-20T13:58:13Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2018 | pl |
dc.description.additional | Art. opubl. w z. 6.1 tomu 5; bibliogr. s. 175-176 | pl |
dc.description.conftype | international | pl |
dc.description.physical | 169-176 | pl |
dc.description.publication | 0,5 | pl |
dc.description.series | SGEM International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts | |
dc.description.seriesissn | true | |
dc.description.seriesnumber | 6.1 | |
dc.description.volume | 5 | pl |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.5593/sgemsocial2018H/61/S07.021 | pl |
dc.identifier.isbn | 978-619-7408-34-8 | pl |
dc.identifier.project | ROD UJ / O | pl |
dc.identifier.seriesissn | 2367-5659 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/60964 | |
dc.language | eng | pl |
dc.language.container | eng | pl |
dc.participation | Nasalski, Ignacy: 100%; | pl |
dc.pubinfo | Sofia : STEF92 Technology | pl |
dc.rights | Dodaję tylko opis bibliograficzny | * |
dc.rights.licence | bez licencji | |
dc.rights.uri | * | |
dc.sourceinfo | liczba autorów 107; liczba stron 537; liczba arkuszy wydawniczych 34; | pl |
dc.subject.pl | pareidolia | pl |
dc.subject.pl | Muslim World | pl |
dc.subject.pl | apophenia | pl |
dc.subject.pl | conspiracy theories | pl |
dc.subject.pl | clustering illusion | pl |
dc.subtype | ConferenceProceedings | pl |
dc.title | What makes some cultures particularly susceptible to see things that others do not see : the case of the Muslim World | pl |
dc.title.container | 5th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts : SGEM 2018 : conference proceedings | pl |
dc.title.volume | Cultural studies, ethnology and folklore, literature and poetry, history of arts, contemporary arts, performing and visual arts | pl |
dc.type | BookSection | pl |
dspace.entity.type | Publication |