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A society as a clearly membered, enduring, territory-holding group

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2025

Mark W. Moffett Open the ORCID record for Mark W. Moffett [Opens in a new window]
Mark W. Moffett*
Affiliation:
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. MoffettMW@si.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

I have attempted to provide a concept of societies that will foster productive cross-disciplinary discussions, namely one incorporating these three elements: (1) A mechanism for group identification, by which members distinguish those who belong from those who do not; (2) the potential for this membership to last for generations; and (3) control over a shared physical space. Herein, I respond to thoughtful commentaries from academics across the social and biological sciences, addressing their insights on the importance of identity in determining society boundaries, how institutions and nations relate to identity, the complications of territoriality as a definition component, how societies fragment, the workings of multitier sociality, and the significance of cooperation.

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Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e76
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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