Supernaturalizing Social Life

@article{Rossano2007SupernaturalizingSL,
  title={Supernaturalizing Social Life},
  author={Matt J. Rossano},
  journal={Human Nature},
  year={2007},
  volume={18},
  pages={272-294}
}
  • M. Rossano
  • Published 9 September 2007
  • Psychology
  • Human Nature
This paper examines three ancient traits of religion whose origins likely date back to the Upper Paleolithic: ancestor worship, shamanism, and the belief in natural and animal spirits. Evidence for the emergence of these traits coincides with evidence for a dramatic advance in human social cooperation. It is argued that these traits played a role in the evolution of human cooperation through the mechanism of social scrutiny. Social scrutiny is an effective means of reducing individualism and… 
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