Baars, Olivier, van
(2023)
Assessing the Relationship Between Supernatural Punishment and Large-scale Cooperation Through Causal Modelling.
Research master thesis, Master Research Master Theologie en Religiewetenschappen.
Abstract
One of the great mysteries of human cultural history is the upscaling of small-scale societies to large-scale cooperative societies (Norenzayan et al., 2016; Powers et al., 2021; Henrich, 2016; Turchin et al., 2022). For much of human history, groups of humans used to live together in small hunter-gatherer societies not exceeding around 150 people (Henrich, 2016). At such scales, cooperation is stable. These small-scale hunter-gatherer societies are characterized by prosocial behaviors, such as food sharing. It is common that such cooperative behaviors are reciprocated in small groups consisting of kith and kin (Axelrod and Hamilton, 1981; Henrich, 2016). Furthermore, the costs of cheating and defecting are high, as in such small groups everyone knows each other personally or was a family member – being caught cheating would be detrimental to reputation. Then, around 12,000 years ago, the advent of agricultural technology enabled an increased food production that was capable of sustaining larger groups and societies (Bocquet-Appel, 2011). This agricultural revolution caused a major demographic shift known as the Neolithic Demographic Transition (ibid.). Larger-scale societies and groups are characterized by sustained cooperation and trust in anonymous strangers. It is unclear whether cooperative behavior is reciprocated in such impersonal relationships. Cooperation at this scale enhances a phenomenon called free-riding, which means that one benefits from the cooperative behaviors of others without contributing or reciprocating. This is because the cost of cheating and defecting in small-scale societies is higher than in larger-scale societies. Consequently, large-scale societies would not be socially stable (Chudek and Henrich, 2011). However, large-scale cooperation is extremely common in our species, and it has been the key factor in the global ecological domination of humans (Henrich, 2016). Therefore, this phenomenon requires an explanation: what is capable of generating and sustaining large-scale cooperation? Some have argued that current theories of kinship and reciprocal altruism are incapable of explaining large-scale cooperation (Norenzayan et al., 2016; Chudek and Henrich, 2011). In the last two decades, evolutionary scholars of religion have theorized how vigilant, powerful, and punitive deities may have contributed to stabilizing and stimulating large-scale cooperation (Johnson, 2015; Norenzayan et al., 2016). The foundational argument underlying these theories is that the looming threat of punishment of a supernatural deity raises the costs of free-riding in such a way that it stimulates cooperation over defection or cheating (Johnson and Krüger, 2004; Johnson, 2015). Could particular features of religion explain why large-scale societies are so socially stable and ecological successful? In order to answer this question, we first need to understand the causal structure underlying the relationship between supernatural punishment and cooperation. Hitherto, this step has not been undertaken and is the central goal of this MA thesis.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Research master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
| Supervisor | E-mail | Tutor organization | Tutor email |
|---|
| Andrejc, G. | | Faculteit GGW, Christendom en Ideeengeschiedenis | G.Andrejc@rug.nl |
|
| Supervisors from outside the RUG: |
| Tutor outside | E-mail | Tutor outside organization | Tutor outside email |
|---|
| Purzycki, Benjamin | bgpurzycki@cas.au.dk | Aarhus University | |
|
| Degree programme: |
Master Research Master Theologie en Religiewetenschappen |
| Academic year: |
2022-2023 |
| Date of delivery: |
16 Nov 2023 15:16 |
| Last modified: |
16 Nov 2023 15:16 |
| URI: |
https://rcs.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/775 |
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