Mark Stanford
@markstanford.org
Cognitive anthropologist working on cultural evolution, moral psychology, religion; fieldwork in China and Burma.
Reposted by Mark Stanford
The count down starts for #CESRabat! Follow @ces2026.bsky.social and join us May 11-13 next year for an exciting meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright
Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright
September 13, 2025 at 3:14 AM
The count down starts for #CESRabat! Follow @ces2026.bsky.social and join us May 11-13 next year for an exciting meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright
Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright
Reposted by Mark Stanford
What do the gods want?
The book Seshat History of Moralizing Religion explores how cultures from Egypt to India to the Americas linked morality to supernatural reward & punishment.
Learn more & read about the book edited by Jenny Reddish, Peter Turchin and Jennifer Larson: shorturl.at/jUj6m
The book Seshat History of Moralizing Religion explores how cultures from Egypt to India to the Americas linked morality to supernatural reward & punishment.
Learn more & read about the book edited by Jenny Reddish, Peter Turchin and Jennifer Larson: shorturl.at/jUj6m
July 23, 2025 at 8:28 AM
What do the gods want?
The book Seshat History of Moralizing Religion explores how cultures from Egypt to India to the Americas linked morality to supernatural reward & punishment.
Learn more & read about the book edited by Jenny Reddish, Peter Turchin and Jennifer Larson: shorturl.at/jUj6m
The book Seshat History of Moralizing Religion explores how cultures from Egypt to India to the Americas linked morality to supernatural reward & punishment.
Learn more & read about the book edited by Jenny Reddish, Peter Turchin and Jennifer Larson: shorturl.at/jUj6m
Enjoyed putting together two chapters for this new volume on the history of how religions have come to see supernatural punishment and reward as moral (a result of interpersonal conduct). I argue that two kinds of supernatural punishment typically seen as amoral are actually moral.
Beresta Books
Academic and popular non-fiction works that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.
berestabooks.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Enjoyed putting together two chapters for this new volume on the history of how religions have come to see supernatural punishment and reward as moral (a result of interpersonal conduct). I argue that two kinds of supernatural punishment typically seen as amoral are actually moral.
Reposted by Mark Stanford
Science is a lot cheaper than most other investments. The anti-intellectual society is inescapably on the decline, abolishing its own future. Be the opposite of that. Go all-out for science, expertise and knowledge, because it pays back, many times over,
as it did for the formerly-great America
as it did for the formerly-great America
February 26, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Science is a lot cheaper than most other investments. The anti-intellectual society is inescapably on the decline, abolishing its own future. Be the opposite of that. Go all-out for science, expertise and knowledge, because it pays back, many times over,
as it did for the formerly-great America
as it did for the formerly-great America
Reposted by Mark Stanford
In the past 5 years, there’s been an explosion of new work on the philosophy & cog sci of norms. If you want to get up to speed on it, check out this newly revised SEP entry on the Psychology of Normative Cognition by @dryan149.bsky.social, Stephen Setman & me.
plato.stanford.edu/entries/psyc...
plato.stanford.edu/entries/psyc...
The Psychology of Normative Cognition (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
plato.stanford.edu
February 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
In the past 5 years, there’s been an explosion of new work on the philosophy & cog sci of norms. If you want to get up to speed on it, check out this newly revised SEP entry on the Psychology of Normative Cognition by @dryan149.bsky.social, Stephen Setman & me.
plato.stanford.edu/entries/psyc...
plato.stanford.edu/entries/psyc...
Reposted by Mark Stanford
"The Special Feature 'Half a Century of Cultural Evolution' assembles answers from a broad array of scientific disciplines with vastly different views on culture, but with one uniting theme: that culture evolves."
Open access
www.pnas.org/topic/565
Open access
www.pnas.org/topic/565
www.pnas.org
January 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"The Special Feature 'Half a Century of Cultural Evolution' assembles answers from a broad array of scientific disciplines with vastly different views on culture, but with one uniting theme: that culture evolves."
Open access
www.pnas.org/topic/565
Open access
www.pnas.org/topic/565
Reposted by Mark Stanford
Does the culture you grow up in shape the way you see the world? In a new Psych Review paper, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I tackle this centuries-old question using the Müller-Lyer illusion as a case study. Come think through one of history's mysteries with us🧵(1/13):
January 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Does the culture you grow up in shape the way you see the world? In a new Psych Review paper, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I tackle this centuries-old question using the Müller-Lyer illusion as a case study. Come think through one of history's mysteries with us🧵(1/13):
Great new paper from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social consistent with the argument that 'mystical harm' can be seen as moralising supernatural punishment -- for local, particularistic norm violations
1/ 🧵 ✨ BRAND sparkling new CCE paper on how beliefs in witchcraft enforce social norms 🧙♀️✨
What role does witchcraft play in regulating social behavior? New research from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social and Co examines how beliefs in witchcraft and envy shape norms around social conduct in Mauritius👇
What role does witchcraft play in regulating social behavior? New research from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social and Co examines how beliefs in witchcraft and envy shape norms around social conduct in Mauritius👇
Witchcraft, Envy, and Norm Enforcement in Mauritius
link.springer.com
January 24, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Great new paper from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social consistent with the argument that 'mystical harm' can be seen as moralising supernatural punishment -- for local, particularistic norm violations
Nice to see this pithy insight from Peter Turchin, with a nod to his work on Seshat, in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
The deep historical forces that explain Trump’s win
Our research shows that political breakdown, from the Roman Empire to the Russian revolution, follows a clear pattern: workers’ wages stagnate, while elites multiply
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2024 at 11:49 AM
Nice to see this pithy insight from Peter Turchin, with a nod to his work on Seshat, in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
Reposted by Mark Stanford
Announcement! The next @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social CES conference will be at UM6P in Rabat, Morocco, provisional dates 11-13th May 2026! Hosted by Mathieu Charbonneau, @sarahalami.bsky.social, @zhgarfield.com & @edseabright.bsky.social. Save the dates!
culturalevolutionsociety.org/news-and-eve...
culturalevolutionsociety.org/news-and-eve...
Cultural Evolution Society 2026 Conference Announced - Cultural Evolution Society
culturalevolutionsociety.org
November 15, 2024 at 7:43 AM
Announcement! The next @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social CES conference will be at UM6P in Rabat, Morocco, provisional dates 11-13th May 2026! Hosted by Mathieu Charbonneau, @sarahalami.bsky.social, @zhgarfield.com & @edseabright.bsky.social. Save the dates!
culturalevolutionsociety.org/news-and-eve...
culturalevolutionsociety.org/news-and-eve...