Constructing Ideas of the Supernatural

• Published in: Journal of cognition and development Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 343 - 355
• Main Author: Lane, Jonathan D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Psychology Press 27.05.2021; Routledge; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Beliefs; Children; Cognition; Cognitive Development; Comprehension; Concept Formation; Constructivism (Learning); Schemata (Cognition); Young Children
• ISSN: 1524-8372; 1532-7647
• DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2021.1906679

The recent proliferation of research on children's supernatural concepts is noteworthy, as this work is necessary for a full account of human cognition. Despite this advancement in our field, there is a lingering tendency for scholars to exotify supernatural concepts; to treat them as distinct or special. Arguments have been raised that these concepts are "prepared" to develop, even inherent; other arguments dismiss these ideas as "immature" or "childish." Yet, the empirical record documents that supernatural concepts are no more inherent and no more childish than "natural" concepts. Just like concepts of nature, supernatural concepts are constructed upon and constrained by one's existing conceptual architecture. I illustrate these points by drawing upon work on children's understanding of supernatural minds, like the minds of "omniscient" deities. This work reveals that young children have great difficulty in understanding such purported minds, but through a protracted developmental process children and adults may gradually approach an understanding of all-knowingness. Based on these and other data, I argue that constructivism makes possible some supernatural ideas that are typically not realized until late childhood or adulthood, contradicting both the view that supernatural concepts are inherent and the view that such concepts are "childish". As well, I emphasize that understanding how children develop beliefs in supernatural concepts requires understanding how they construct mental representations of those concepts. Embracing the fact that supernatural concepts develop through the same processes as concepts of nature will help to further bring research on these critical topics into the mainstream.