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.