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Dying for your group or for your faith? On the power of belief

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Maarten Boudry
Maarten Boudry*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy & Moral Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium. maartenboudry@gmail.comwww.maartenboudry.be
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Abstract

Whitehouse's theory offers one plausible pathway toward extreme self-sacrifice, but it fails to explain sacrificial acts that are inspired by heartfelt ideological beliefs, including jihadi terrorism and mass suicide in cults. If he wants to offer a “single overarching theory” of self-sacrifice, he will need to take seriously the power of belief.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e195
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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