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Hell of a theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2016

Joachim I. Krueger*
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. [email protected]://research.brown.edu/research/profile.php?id=10378

Abstract

The theory of group-selected Big God religions is a master narrative of cultural evolution. The evidence is a positive manifold of correlated assumptions and variables. Although provocative, the theory is overly elastic. Its critical ingredient – belief in Big Gods – is neither necessary nor sufficient to account for in-group prosociality and discipline. Four specific issues illustrate this elasticity.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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