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Cultural evolution and prosociality: Widening the hypothesis space

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2016

Bryce Huebner  and
Hagop Sarkissian
Bryce Huebner
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057. bryce.huebner@georgetown.edu http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/lbh24/
Hagop Sarkissian
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, The City University of New York, Baruch College, New York, NY 10010. hagop.sarkissian@baruch.cuny.edu http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/wsas/academics/philosophy/hsarkissian.htm
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Abstract

Norenzayan et al. suggest that Big Gods can be replaced by Big Governments. We examine forms of social and self-monitoring and ritual practice that emerged in Classical China, heterarchical societies like those that emerged in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and the contemporary Zapatista movement of Chiapas, and we recommend widening the hypothesis space to include these alternative forms of social organization.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e15
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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