Can Anthropology Save Our Minds?

We need to listen to anthropologists—the people who study people—because they can teach us a lot about how we got here, how we connect to each other, and why we behave as we do. In this time of rampant popularized and monetized pseudoscience, anthropologists offer us invaluable evidence-based alternatives to the nonsense.

Sean Rafferty, associate anthropology professor at the University at Albany, is deeply concerned about fake science and believes anthropology is a potent antidote. His new book, Misanthropology: Science, Pseudoscience, and the Study of Humanity (Routledge), is an aggressive and effective broadside aimed at many common irrational beliefs about our species.

We certainly need it. Chapman University researchers found that 41 percent of American adults believe extraterrestrials have been active participants in human affairs for thousands of years. Ask 10 random people what they know about Tutankhamun’s Tomb, and most are likely to mention “the curse." The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens series—roundly condemned by experts as misleading at best—is at 220 episodes and counting. More than half of American adults believe in Atlantis or some other lost civilization that was highly advanced technologically. None of this is supported by trustworthy evidence.

Source: Sean Rafferty

How is anthropology uniquely suited to fight pseudoscience and bogus beliefs about humankind?

Sean Rafferty: Anthropology is inherently generalist and interdisciplinary, so we’re used to bringing in a wide range of expertise and evidence to evaluate complex human questions. We look to the significance of social and historical context. What’s going on in a society, and what historical events have occurred, can have a huge influence on what an individual is prone to believe in. We now live in a time of culture wars and a growing anti-expert ideology. That’s an ideal environment for pseudoscientific ideas to spread, and anthropology is well-situated to investigate these trends.

The Ancient Aliens television series continues to push pseudoarcheology in popular culture. What is your best argument against the core claim of ancient alien contact?

SR: I would have to say it’s the sheer implausibility of the claim. On one hand, you need to imagine galaxy-spanning civilizations, for which there is no convincing evidence, with physics-defying technology, but who left behind no unequivocal physical evidence. On the other hand, you just need to imagine that people in the past were smart and clever and could build impressive things with relatively simple technology. What large numbers of motivated people can accomplish with relatively simple tools is already amazing; there’s no need to invoke aliens or other pseudoscientific explanations.

How does some pseudoanthropology/pseudoarcheology encourage a racist worldview?

SR: The concept requires you to see ancient peoples as primitive and incapable of building great things. But it’s predominantly people of color and their ancestors that are singled out. One often sees pseudoarchaeological treatments of ancient Egypt, or Central and South America, for example. I’ve never heard an argument that European medieval cathedrals required alien technology. The clear implication is people of color were primitive and required alien assistance. White people didn’t. It’s an explicitly racist idea.

Anthropologist Sean Rafferty is concerned about the proliferation of false narratives about humanity.

Source: Sean Rafferty

What can evidence-based stories about human origins, kinships, and journeys add to our lives?

SR: People want a narrative of the past that gives the present meaning. The real evidence of the past can give us that narrative. It tells stories of great people and amazing deeds and accomplishments, and it’s all real. There’s no need to invoke faerie stories of alien beings. I’ve been doing public outreach in archaeology for 20 years now, and I’m always amazed and how enthusiastic and excited people are at evidence-based stories about the human past.

Erich von Däniken’s 1968 book Chariots of the Gods has sold tens of millions of copies and is still going strong. What is this dubious thesis saying that so many people find compelling generation after generation?

SR: The first thing he does in the book is assault the idea of expertise. So the book appeals to those with an anti-intellectual bent, for one thing. But also, we’re hard-wired to believe in transcendent beings who oversee the affairs of humans. We are used to imagining angels and demons. Today it’s aliens. So he’s really just repackaging a very old story in new terms. And he gives the credulous reader the gift of believing they have access to privileged knowledge, beyond what the average individual knows. So there’s a benefit to the ego as well. Now anyone can be the expert without the trouble of actually learning about the real past.

What is your best general advice for how we can think our way through and clear of baseless claims about our common humanity and shared past?

SR: I teach my students to go through three steps in evaluating any claim. First, clarify. What exactly is being claimed? What supporting evidence would be sufficient to evaluate that claim? Second, how plausible is the claim? What do we already know about the topic? What’s the consensus of opinion on the issue among experts? Does the claim invoke new phenomena or technologies? Is there a simpler, more prosaic explanation? And lastly, what is the supporting evidence? Opinions, testimonials, and anecdotes aren’t evidence. Science requires hard, falsifiable, and reproducible evidence for claims. To quote Carl Sagan, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”—evidence that never seems to be forthcoming in pseudoscience.

Environment Essential Reads

Physical and Mental Health Risks in an Intense Heat Climate

What Can We Do to Protect Our Brains From Heat?

How has being a student and teacher of anthropology shaped your life?

SR: Anthropology introduces you to different cultures around the world and people living lives differently from your own. Knowing the variety of equally valid ways of being human makes you more reflective, more understanding, and more tolerant. Most of all, my work in archaeology has taught me the importance of evidence-based thinking, not just accepting explanations that fit my biases and preferences.