Now that we have clarified what ToM is,
what do we mean by existential theory of mind(Etom)?
It addresses how Etom process elements and flows
can be used to support the processes identified in ITIL.
The idea of Etom is that people tend to engage their ToM
in interactions not just with other people, but with‘existence' in general.
Is the tendency towards Etom simply an accidental by-product of our ToM adaptations,
or does Etom have some adaptive function in its own right?
But even if we do see Etom as a reorientation of regular ToM,
away from a normal social context and towards‘the universe' in general, this view raises new questions.
Etom is a useful way to conceptualize the essence of religion,
because it seems like a good description of the mental processes that underlie what we would identify as‘religiosity' cross-culturally.
In this post I have hopefully clarified the meaning of both ToM and Etom, and established why Etom is a good
candidate to be considered the essence of religiosity and spirituality cross-culturally.