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Shamans as healers: When magical structure becomes practical function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2018

Nicholas Humphrey
Nicholas Humphrey*
Affiliation:
Darwin College, Cambridge CB3 9EU, United Kingdom. humphrey@me.com www.humphrey.org.uk
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Abstract

Singh's analysis has much to be said for it. When considering the treatment of illness, however, he begins from a shaky premise about uncontrollability and, so, fails to make the most of what shamanic treatments – as placebos – can deliver.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e77
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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References

Humphrey, N. (2002a) Behold the man. In: The mind made flesh: Essays from the frontiers of evolution and psychology, pp. 206–31. Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.humphrey.org.uk/papers/2002BeholdTheMan.pdf.Google Scholar
Humphrey, N. & Skoyles, J. (2012) The evolutionary psychology of healing: A human success story. Current Biology 22(17):R695–98. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.06.018. Available at: http://www.humphrey.org.uk/papers/2012Healing.pdf.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed