The deification of historical figures and the emergence of priesthoods as a solution to a network coordination problem
@article{DavidBarrett2016TheDO, title={The deification of historical figures and the emergence of priesthoods as a solution to a network coordination problem}, author={Tamas David-Barrett and James Carney}, journal={Religion, Brain \& Behavior}, year={2016}, volume={6}, pages={307 - 317} }
ABSTRACT Why do historical figures sometimes become the object of religious worship? Here, we propose that, above a certain group-size threshold, maintaining a belief in the continued existence of authority figures after their death preserves group coordination efficiency. That is, we argue that coordination activities in larger groups become more effective when they center on symbolic (although formerly real) bearers of authority; for smaller groups, we claim the opposite occurs. Our argument…
21 Citations
Why Do the Godless Prosper? Modeling the Cognitive and Coalitional Mechanisms That Promote Atheism
- PhilosophyPsychology of Religion and Spirituality
- 2018
This article offers an affirmative construal of atheism: the attempt to make sense of the world with naturalist explanations and to act sensibly in society following secularist principles (i.e.,…
Way-Making: Portability and Practice amid Protestantization in American Confucianism
- SociologyReligions
- 2022
While the study of Confucianism has been ongoing in the United States for quite some time, the idea of its viability in the American context is quite recent. Even more recent are experimental…
The Dead May Kill You
- SociologyJournal of Cognition and Culture
- 2022
There is considerable evidence that beliefs in supernatural punishment decrease self-interested behavior and increase cooperation amongst group members. To date, research has largely focused on…
Network Effects of Demographic Transition
- EconomicsScientific Reports
- 2019
Demographic transition weakens both mechanisms for eliminating free-riders: there are fewer relatives around, and reputation spreads slower, which offers novel interpretations of the origins of legal institutions, the Small World phenomenon, the social impact of urbanisation, and the birds-of-a-feather friendship choice heuristic.
Fictional narrative as a variational Bayesian method for estimating social dispositions in large groups☆
- PsychologyJournal of mathematical psychology
- 2019
Rudolf Otto’s ‘the Absolute Other’ and a radical postsecular urban contextualization
- ArtPlanning Theory
- 2020
This article proposes an idea of radical urban contextualisation that follows Rudolf Otto’s discussion on an encounter with the Absolute Other. The article critically reviews current applications of…
Simulating the Past for Understanding the Present. A Critical Review
- Sociology
- 2016
This introductory essay aims to introduce the chapters in the book presenting some aspects of the theoretical and conceptual framework necessary to consider the advantages computer simulation…
Forecasting Changes in Religiosity and Existential Security with an Agent-Based Model
- EconomicsJ. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul.
- 2018
An evaluation demonstrates, for the countries and time periods studied, that the model provides a more accurate forecast of changes in existential security and religiosity than two alternative approaches.
Computer Modeling in Philosophy of Religion
- PhilosophyOpen Philosophy
- 2019
Abstract How might philosophy of religion be impacted by developments in computational modeling and social simulation? After briefly describing some of the content and context biases that have shaped…
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 60 REFERENCES
`Ours is the Way of God': Religion, Identity, And Intergroup Conflict
- Psychology
- 1999
According to social identity theory, identity competition plays a central role in the inception and escalation of intergroup conflict, even when economic and political factors also are at play.…
Arguments and Icons: Divergent Modes of Religiosity
- History
- 2000
Why do initiations in Papua New Guinea often subject novices to violence and terror? Why do some cargo cults lead to regional unity and others to regional divisions? How have features of cognitive…
Rastafari : Roots and Ideology
- History
- 1994
Interviews with 30 converts from the 1930s and 1940s are a component of Barry Chevanne's book, a look into the origins and practices of Rastafarianism. From the direct accounts of these early…
Religion at work in a Neolithic society: vital matters
- Philosophy
- 2016
This amazing book is the result of a three year project (2009–2011) funded by the Templeton Foundation to investigate ‘Religion as the basis for power and property in the first civilizations.’ The…
Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty
- HistoryThe Journal of Asian Studies
- 1990
In his work the late Georges Dumezil, arguably the most important modern mythologist, demonstrated that every Indo-European religious and social system was structured according to three primary…
Social elites can emerge naturally when interaction in networks is restricted
- Economics
- 2014
This article proposes a new model, that of synchronized group action, in which all 3 elements are linked, and shows that the group-level efficiency and inequality consequences of these emergent phenomena define a space for social institutions that optimize efficiency gain in some fitness-related respect, while controlling the loss of efficiency and equality in other respects.
Cooperation and Commune Longevity: A Test of the Costly Signaling Theory of Religion
- Economics
- 2003
The costly signaling theory of religion posits that religious rituals and taboos can promote intragroup cooperation, which is argued to be the primary adaptive benefit of religion. To test this…
The Universality of Ancestor Worship
- Philosophy
- 1996
A "professional malpractice of anthropologists to exaggerate the exotic character of other cultures" (Bloch 1977:285) has been detrimental to the study of cultural universals. This is highly…
Honours and worship: Emperors, imperial cults and associations at Ephesus (first to third centuries C.E.)
- History
- 1996
Scholars have frequently underplayed the significance of the emperors within actual social and religious life in cities of the Roman empire and have portrayed imperial cults as predominantly…
The pangs of the Ulstermen:an exchangist perspective
- Philosophy
- 2008
Why is Cu Chulainn exempt from the curse of Macha in Tain Bo Cuailgne? In the present article, I attempt to resolve the issue of Cu Chulainn’s exceptional status by nominating the curse of Macha and…