Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T09:37:47.464Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From mutualism to moral transcendence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2013

Scott Atran
Scott Atran*
Affiliation:
UMR 8129, CNRS/Institut Jean Nicod – Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75005 Paris, France. Satran@umich.eduhttp://sitemaker.umich.edu/satran/home
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Baumard et al. attribute morality to a naturally selected propensity to share costs and benefits of cooperation fairly. But how does mundane mutualism relate to transcendent notions of morality critical to creating cultures and civilizations? Humans often make their greatest exertions for an idea they form of their group. Primary social identity is bounded by sacred values, which drive individuals to promote their group through non-rational commitment to actions independently of likely risks and rewards.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , February 2013 , pp. 81 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, R. (1987) The biology of moral systems (Foundations of human behavior). Aldine de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Anderson, B. (1991) Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso.Google Scholar
Arreguín-Toft, I. (2001) How the weak win wars: A theory of asymmetric conflict. International Security 26:93–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atran, S. (2010) Talking to the enemy: Violent extremism, sacred values, and what it means to be human. Penguin.Google Scholar
Atran, S. & Axelrod, R. (2008) Reframing sacred values. Negotiation Journal 24:221–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atran, S. & Ginges, J. (2012) Religious and sacred imperatives in human conflict. Science 336(6083):855–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atran, S. & Henrich, J. (2010) The evolution of religion: How cognitive by-products, adaptive learning heuristics, ritual displays, and group competition generate deep commitments to prosocial religions. Biological Theory 5(1):18–30.Google Scholar
Axelrod, R. & Hamilton, W. (1981) The evolution of cooperation. Science 211(4489):1390–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berns, G., Bell, E., Capra, C., Prietula, M., Moore, S., Anderson, B., Ginges, J. & Atran, S. (2012) The price of your soul: Neural evidence for the non-utilitarian representation of sacred values. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B: Biological Sciences 367:754–62.Google Scholar
Blair, J., Marsh, A., Finger, E., Blair, K. & Luo, J. (2006) Neuro-cognitive systems involved in morality. Philosophical Explorations 9:13–27.Google Scholar
Bowles, S. & Polanía-Reyes, S. (2012) Economic incentives and social preferences: Substitutes or complements? Journal of Economic Literature 50:368–425.Google Scholar
Carter, T., Ferguson, M. & Hassin, R. (2011) A single exposure to the American flag shifts support toward Republicanism up to 8 months later. Psychological Science 22:1011–18.Google Scholar
Choi, J. & Bowles, S. (2007) The coevolution of parochial altruism and war. Science 318(5850):636–40.Google Scholar
Darwin, C. (1871) The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. John Murray.Google Scholar
Dehghani, M., Atran, S., Iliev, R., Sachdeva, S., Ginges, J. & Medin, D. (2010) Sacred values and conflict over Iran's nuclear program. Judgment and Decision Making 5:540–46.Google Scholar
Ginges, J. & Atran, S. (2011) War as a moral imperative (not practical politics by other means). Proceedings of the Royal Society, B: Biological Sciences 278:2930–38.Google Scholar
Hobbes, T. (1651/1982) Leviathan. Penguin.Google Scholar
Hunt, L. (2007) Inventing human rights. W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Norenzayan, A. & Shariff, A. (2008) The origin and evolution of religious prosociality. Science 322(5898):58–62.Google Scholar
Roes, F. & Raymond, M. (2003) Belief in moralizing gods. Evolution and Human Behavior 24:126–35.Google Scholar
Sheikh, H., Ginges, J., Coman, A. & Atran, S. (2012) Religion, group threat and sacred values. Judgment and Decision Making 7:110–18.Google Scholar
Trivers, R. (1971) Evolution of reciprocal altruism. Quarterly Review of Biology 46:35–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar