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={T. 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… Expand
View on Taylor & Francis
14 Citations
Background Citations
2
Methods Citations
1

14 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Why Do the Godless Prosper? Modeling the Cognitive and Coalitional Mechanisms That Promote Atheism
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.,… Expand
Fertility, kinship and the evolution of mass ideologies.
TLDR
It is concluded that, when societies transition to small effective kin networks, due to falling fertility, increased relative distance to kin due to urbanisation or high mortality due to war or epidemics, they will be able to remain socially cohesive only if they replace disappearing kin networks with quasi-kin alternatives based on membership of guilds or clubs. Expand
Network Effects of Demographic Transition
TLDR
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. Expand
Fictional narrative as a variational Bayesian method for estimating social dispositions in large groups☆
TLDR
It is argued that prototypical action roles that are removed from real-world interactions function as interpretive priors in a form of variational Bayesian inference, such that they allow estimations can be made of unknown social motives. Expand
Rudolf Otto’s ‘the Absolute Other’ and a radical postsecular urban contextualization
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… Expand
Simulating the Past for Understanding the Present. A Critical Review
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… Expand
Forecasting Changes in Religiosity and Existential Security with an Agent-Based Model
TLDR
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. Expand
Computer Modeling in Philosophy of Religion
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… Expand
What is the naturalistic basis of theological interpretation?
ABSTRACT The interpretation of religious texts and artifacts – known as hermeneutics or exegesis – is a core part of religious practice. Nevertheless, biocultural models of religion largely neglect… Expand
Language as a coordination tool evolves slowly
TLDR
A behavioural coordination model is used to explore the impact of communication efficiency on social group coordination and shows that when language production is expensive but there is an individual benefit to the efficiency with which individuals coordinate their behaviour, the evolution of efficient communication is selected for. Expand
...
1
2
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 60 REFERENCES
`Ours is the Way of God': Religion, Identity, And Intergroup Conflict
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.… Expand
Arguments and Icons: Divergent Modes of Religiosity
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… Expand
Rastafari : Roots and Ideology
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… Expand
Religion at work in a Neolithic society: vital matters
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… Expand
Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty
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… Expand
Social elites can emerge naturally when interaction in networks is restricted
TLDR
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. Expand
Cooperation and Commune Longevity: A Test of the Costly Signaling Theory of Religion
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… Expand
The Universality of Ancestor Worship
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… Expand
Altruistic Celibacy, Kin‐Cue Manipulation, and The Development of Religious Institutions
Abstract. Building on a model first proposed by Gary Johnson, it is hypothesized that religious institutions demanding celibacy and other forms of altruism from members take advantage of human… Expand
Honours and worship: Emperors, imperial cults and associations at Ephesus (first to third centuries C.E.)
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… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...