# life: ghostly psyche revisited; ghosts, zombies, gris-gris, and so on ...

<< Most people imagine philosophers as rational thinkers who spend their time developing abstract logical theories and strongly reject superstitious beliefs. But several 20th-century philosophers actively investigated spooky topics such as clairvoyance, telepathy – even ghosts.

Many of these philosophers, including Henri Bergson and William James, were interested in what was called “psychical research”. This was the academic study of paranormal phenomena including telepathy, telekinesis and other-worldly spirits. These thinkers attended seances and were attempting to develop theories about ghosts, life after death and the powers exhibited by mediums in trances. >>

AA << recent archival research has been looking at how these topics shaped 20th-century philosophy. >>️

Matyas Moravec. Many important 20th-century philosophers investigated ghosts – here’s how they explained them. Oct 24, 2024. 

https://theconversation.com/many-important-20th-century-philosophers-investigated-ghosts-heres-how-they-explained-them-241635

Also: ethno, gris-gris, neuro, zombie, perception, psychedelic, delirium, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: ethno, gris-gris, neuro, zombie, perception, psychedelic, delirium 

FonT: even G.A. Romero's zombie filmography - which, as with other "spooky" themes, I have always marginalized - still seems relevant.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_A._Romero

# ethno: apropos of Nomads, an Aboriginal ritual passed down for 500 generations.

AA << excavated at Cloggs Cave near Buchan, in the foothills of the high country near the Snowy River in East Gippsland, Victoria. >>️

<< What (AA) found was extraordinary. Under the low, subdued light in the depth of the cave, buried under layers of ash and silt, two unusual fireplaces were revealed by the tip of the trowel. They each contained a single trimmed stick associated with a tiny patch of ash. >>️

<< The role of these fireplaces in ritual

Local 19th-century ethnography has good descriptions of such fireplaces, so (AA) know they were made for ritual practices performed by mulla-mullung, powerful GunaiKurnai medicine men and women. >>️

<< The Kurnai practice is to fasten the article [something that belonged to the victim] to the end of a throwing stick, together with some eaglehawk feathers, and some human or kangaroo fat. The throwing stick is then stuck slanting in the ground before a fire, and it is of course placed in such a position that by-and-by it falls down. The wizard has during this time been singing his charm; as it is usually expressed, he ‘sings the man’s name,’ and when the stick falls the charm is complete. The practice still exists. >>️

<< Nowhere else on Earth have archaeological expressions of a very specific cultural practice known from ethnography, yet traceable so far back, previously been found. >>️

Russell Mullett, Ashleigh Rogers, et al. Oldest living culture: our new research shows an Indigenous ritual passed down for 500 generations. theconversation.com. Jul 1, 2024. 

https://theconversation.com/oldest-living-culture-our-new-research-shows-an-indigenous-ritual-passed-down-for-500-generations-230782

Bruno David, Russell Mullett, et al. 

Archaeological evidence of an ethnographically documented Australian Aboriginal ritual dated to the last ice age. Nat Hum Behav. doi: 10.1038/ s41562-024-01912-w. Jul 1,  2024. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-01912-w

Also: ethno, Nomads, gris-gris, behav, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: ethno, Nomads, gris-gris, behaviors

FonT: the image cited regarding mulla-mullung entities is very intriguing ... 

# ethno: cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries.

<< Music is present in every known society but varies from place to place. What, if anything, is universal to music cognition? (AA) measured a signature of mental representations of rhythm in 39 participant groups in 15 countries, spanning urban societies and Indigenous populations. >>️

Their << results suggest a common feature of music cognition: discrete rhythm ‘categories’ at small-integer ratios. These discrete representations plausibly stabilize musical systems in the face of cultural transmission but interact with culture-specific traditions to yield the diversity that is evident when mental representations are probed across many cultures. >>️

Nori Jacoby, Rainer Polak, et al. Commonality and variation in mental representations of music revealed by a cross-cultural comparison of rhythm priors in 15 countries. Nat Hum Behav.  doi: 10.1038/ s41562-023-01800-9. March 4, 2024. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01800-9 

Also: ethno, music, jazz, behav, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: ethno, music, jazz, behavior