[shims]

Similarly, there's evidence that in cultures where hearing voices is considered something spiritual or a gift instead of a serious illness, not only are the voices more positive, but those who hear them are able to integrate and function in society better.

[fmihaila]

For those interested to explore this subject in more depth, I recommend 'Rethinking Madness' by Paris Williams [1]. The author makes the same point and discusses the evidence for it along with possible explanations.

I found the book fascinating.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Madness-Understanding-Trea...

[ranie93]

some additional resources:

"The striking difference was that while many of the African and Indian subjects registered predominantly positive experiences with their voices, not one American did. Rather, the U.S. subjects were more likely to report experiences as violent and hateful – and evidence of a sick condition."[0]

[0] https://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16/voices-culture-luhrmann...

https://institute.progress.im/en/content/schizophrenia-acros...

[fipar]

In the bicameral mind theory (linked here in another comment[0]) Julian Jaynes proposes the Collective Cognitive Imperative[1], stating that this influences the tone and message of the hallucinations.

[0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20366183 [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_cognitive_imperativ...

[amelius]

Could the existence of such cultures, throughout evolution, be the reason that some hear voices, or have developed other mental illnesses?

[cr0sh]

There's the theory of the so-called "bicameral mind":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism_(psychology)

[HiroshiSan]

That's an interesting theory, in a lot of native cultures, voices (whether it be auditory or in dreams) seem to play a significant role.

I've had about 3 experiences happen to me that I don't know how to explain, 2 were what you'd call auditory hallucinations and one was a thought that popped into my head that ended up coming into fruition immediately after.