Milestone or millstone?: does Norenzayan's book live up to the hype?
In this book Norenzayan maintains that the mechanisms that make possible cooperative behavior among members of hunter-gatherer bands and tribal societies cannot account for what he calls the ‘scaled-up’ cooperation of humans in cities and states. Only the fear of being watched by an omnipotent and o...
| Published in: | Religion |
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| Subtitles: | Review Symposium on Ara Norenzayan: "Big Gods: how religion transformed cooperation and conflict" (2013) |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
[2014]
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| In: |
Religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Norenzayan, Ara 1970-, Big gods
/ Idea of God
/ Moral act
/ Control
/ Cultural evolution
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BB Indigenous religions BG World religions |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In this book Norenzayan maintains that the mechanisms that make possible cooperative behavior among members of hunter-gatherer bands and tribal societies cannot account for what he calls the ‘scaled-up’ cooperation of humans in cities and states. Only the fear of being watched by an omnipotent and omniscient supernatural being who is able and willing to punish those who do not play fair can account for the emergence of the ultrasociality on which complex societies are based. The author shows here that neither the experimental nor historical evidence he brings forward supports that claim. |
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| ISSN: | 0048-721X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2014.937079 |