RELN 1510 – Week 1 Comprehensive Notes

Course Context & Orientation

• Course code: RELN 1510 – History of the Supernatural (UQ)
• Delivery: on-campus + Zoom (recordings posted on Blackboard).
• Enrolment: ~50 online + 140 internal (approx. 190 total).
• Welcome addressed equally to internal & external students.
• Students may freely attend either mode; lectures always streamed/recorded on Zoom.
• If attending online, use chat for questions—lecturer will monitor when possible.

Lecturer Profile

• Name: Assoc. Prof. Tom Aechtner
• Discipline: Religious Studies within School of Historical & Philosophical Inquiry (HPI) ‑ UQ
  • HPI disciplines: History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Classics.
• At UQ ≈ 12 years.
• Workload breakdown for typical academics:
  • 40\% teaching; 40\% research; 20\% administration.
• Research focus:
  • Science & religion interface.
  • Science‐skepticism: evolution denial, vaccine hesitancy, etc.
  • Spread of dis/misinformation and its (non-)religious drivers.
  • COVID-19 thrust research into public interest.
• Teaches: Religion & Science (1st yr), Psychology of Religion (3rd yr), elements of cognitive science of religion.

Lecture Plan (Week 1)

• Part 1: What is “the supernatural”?
• Part 2: House-keeping → assessments, tutorials, admin info.

Chronological Focus of the Course

• Core span: Middle Ages (~400–1500 CE) → Early-Modern Period (~1500–1700 CE).
• Key intellectual milestones sprinkled in:
  • Scholastics & Theology: e.g.A0Thomas Aquinas.
  • Renaissance & Astronomy: Copernicus (heliocentrism, priest-astronomer).
  • Scientific Revolution (~1550–1750): Galileo, Isaac Newton, etc.
• Discussion extends to modern contexts & legacies.

Snapshot: Reginald Scot’s Skepticism (1584)

• English MP; published The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584).
• Listed 34 supernatural entities (e.g. bull-beggars, urchins, elves, hags, fairies, Tom Thumb, etc.).
• Described them collectively as "bugs"—ever-present yet often repulsive.
• Skeptical of witches/magic yet devout Christian → shows belief spectra.
• Illustrates enchanted worldview: spirits seen as normal parts of nature, not “above” it.

‘Enchanted’ Worldview vs. Modern Perception

• Medieval/Early-Modern people assumed cosmos populated by spirits; magic deemed a natural manipulation of hidden forces.
• Fear, dread, awe common emotional responses ("bull-beggars" as bugs analogy).
• Modern West often labels these phenomena “supernatural” → historical anachronism.
• Today: conceivable, even common, to profess no belief in God/devil; historically almost inconceivable.
• Australian census: “No Religion” now second-largest, esp. among youth; Christianity < 50\% for first time.
• Yet surveys show persistent supernatural credence (ghosts, karma, astrology—rising).

Empirical Findings on Religion & Well-being

• University of Kent & others: many atheists still affirm ≥1 paranormal belief.
• Global data: religious participation correlates with
  • Better physical/mental health, lower cardiovascular risk.
  • Higher social capital: job networking, mutual aid, lower crime rates (Wilson, Darwin’s Cathedral).
  • Longevity & “human flourishing.”
• Post-industrial nations show secularisation and dwindling fertility → globally religion still growing (demographic momentum).

Why Study the Supernatural Today?

• Psychological propensity: humans are “belief engines.”
• Essential for interpreting history, art, literature, law, science origins (e.g. European art galleries).
• World becoming more religious in raw numbers; global business & diplomacy demand literacy in religion.
• Rise of individualised spiritualities (crystals, wellness, tarot) – belief without organised community.
• Academic field: Religious Studies = multidisciplinary, descriptive, not confessional; welcomes believers & skeptics.

Doubt & Disenchantment – Not Uniquely Modern

• Skeptics have existed throughout history (e.g. Reginald Scot).
• 17th-century Daniel Defoe lamented decline of ghosts, poltergeists.
• “Disenchantment” (Max Weber; Charles Taylor): perception that modernity thins the magical canopy.
• Berger (1969): many moderns get along “quite well” without supernatural.
• Yet enchantment “re-enchants” via conspiracy theories, horoscopes, good-luck rituals (“knock on wood”).

Key Concept Triad

1. Nature (Naturalis)

• Latin natura: everyday order; what usually happens.
• In medieval thought: governed by God’s laws – already a theistic frame.

2. Super-nature (Supernaturalis)

• Latin super (above) + naturalis.
• Coined 13^{th} c. for phenomena “beyond created nature.”
• Modern binary (natural vs. supernatural) is recent; earlier thinkers saw overlapping continua.

3. Preternature (Praeter-naturalis)

• “Beside/alongside” nature – anomalies not yet understood.
• Attributed to hidden forces, occult arts, devils, witches.
• Expected eventual natural explanation once mechanisms known.

Illustrative Case-Studies

• Witches’ Flight: Early-modern scholars sought mechanistic (not miraculous) explanations for broom-flight.
• Demonic Possession: first line of response = physician; exorcism only after medical causes excluded.
• Melancholy (Depression): imbalance of black bile (melaina chole) natural cause; devil might trigger imbalance – dual causality.
• Biblical Miracles Re-read:
  • Rabbi Moses Maimonides (12th c.): miracles pre-programmed within nature; no permanent alteration of order.
  • Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes): miracles = natural processes compressed in time (e.g. rod→snake; resurrection).

Methodological Reminder for Historians

• Core question: What did alleged supernatural events mean to contemporaries? — not “Did it really happen?”
• Example: Saint Sebastian iconography → martyr shot by arrows, survives; meaning for faith/identity outweighs biomedical probability.

Course Structure & Weekly Progression

• Weeks 1–2: Foundational terms, historical epochs, Protestant Reformation (1517) as pivot.
• Subsequent weeks: Thematic deep-dives – ghosts, fairies, vampires, devil, miracles, etc.

Course Logistics & Support

• Contact:
  • Lecturer email: t.aechtner@uq.edu.au (include “RELN 1510” in subject).
  • Tutors/markers: Dr Oliver Zambon, Chris White (PhD cand.), Tayla Batt (PhD cand.).
• Blackboard navigation:
  • “Learning Resources” → weekly slides, readings (PDFs & TALIS links), Zoom recordings.
  • “Assessments” → templates, Turnitin portals.
• Readings: no textbook; required + recommended articles each week.

Assessment Overview (2024-onward)

• Late penalty: 10\% per calendar day (max 7 days; then 0\%).
• Extension requests handled through MyUQ portal, not lecturer.

Generative AI Policy Highlights

• UQ now mandates ≥30\% "Highly Secure" (invigilated) assessment; hence the exam.
• Use of AI in assignments = plagiarism; however detection/prosecution limited.
• AI output often contains fabricated citations & errors—will be graded poorly.
• Scaffold template designed to evidence your critical work; submit as Word, not PDF.

Tutorial & Enrolment Admin

• Course coordinator cannot alter enrolment lists; email hpi@uq.edu.au for tutorial swaps.
• Check UQ email + Blackboard announcements regularly.

Concluding Ethos of the Course

• Goal is critical understanding, not conversion or debunking.
• Diverse viewpoints welcomed—belief, disbelief, uncertainty.
• The supernatural operates as a powerful lens on human cognition, culture & history.