Supersense

READER’S NOTES

In Brief

Belief in the supernatural is extremely common in today’s modern society. Whether it is religious or secular notions of paranormal activity, most people hold some form of belief that goes beyond the current natural understanding of the world. SuperSense attempts to explain this by looking for the origins of such beliefs in children’s everyday reasoning. The book surveys the research into early childhood behaviour to reveal that the foundations of many aspects of adult belief appear early in development. This way of thinking is our ‘supersense’ and, while its influence may disappear with education and increased rational control, it may never entirely go away, especially if the culture supports such beliefs. Moreover, it may become more apparent at times when our ability to exercise rational control is weakened by stress, disease or diminished mental agility. Believing in the supernatural also appears to offer comfort and control when we feel under threat. However, we are not all the same in our reliance on our supersense. There is much room for individual variation. Some of us are more inclined than others towards our supersense, but this may not be a weakness; it may be the basis for why some people are more creative in their thinking. Also our supersense may forge the bonds that hold us together as a society. This is because the supersense may enable individuals to believe and act as if there were some supernatural property that binds them together to form close personal bonds with others. In this way, social cohesion may benefit from this perception of supernatural connection. So, with its natural origins, creative influence and social benefits, it seems unlikely that such a supersense will ever be eradicated entirely by reason.

Brief Biography

Bruce is currently Chair of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre at the University of Bristol (1999–). He was previously a professor in the Department of Psychology, Harvard University (1995–99) and a visiting scientist at MIT (1994–95). He obtained his first degree in psychology at Dundee University in 1984 and his PhD from Cambridge University in 1991.

About the Author

I was born in Toronto and my middle name is MacFarlane, a legacy of my Scottish heritage from my father’s side. My mother is Australian, with the very unusual first name of ‘Loyale’. I used to believe for many years that she had two sisters called ‘Hope’ and ‘Faith’ but this was just wishful thinking. ‘Why Toronto?’, I hear you ask. My father was a journalist and plied his art on various continents. By the time, I finally settled in Dundee, Scotland, for the majority of my childhood, I had already lived in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. (If you are wondering, I support Scotland during the Rugby World Cup.) I have an older brother who was also born in Toronto but he doesn’t have my mid-Atlantic accent. He is sensible. He is a lawyer. In Dundee, I went to school and then to university where I studied psychology. I then went to Cambridge to conduct research on visual development in babies and completed my PhD in 1991. That year I got married with a ‘Dr’ in front of my name. My wife is a real doctor and wouldn’t marry me until I was doctored. After some post-doc experience at University College London, we both set off to Boston to sample US academia for a year. By the time we were ready to travel, we were three as my eldest daughter had just been born. When my wife wasn’t paying attention, I applied for, and was offered, a professorship at Harvard. What was supposed to be just one year in the US turned into five, by which time we decided that we really did not want to raise our daughter with the same accent as mine. We moved back to Bath, a beautiful city where we never thought we would ever have the opportunity to work. Bristol University, which is not too far away from Bath, offered me a professorial chair in developmental psychology, so I was well pleased. That was ten years ago. We now have a second daughter and we all live in a medieval barn with mice. I still conduct research and teach at Bristol. But I also write books. That’s where I am up to now.