In a message dated 7/18/01 6:18:19 AM, rhanson@gmu.edu writes:
>I agree that there is some stuff about intergroup relations, just
>must less than within group relations. Anyway, this is all besides
>the subject line topic - explaining religion.
Robin, I was addressing just that in the part you cut:
>>In a lot
>>of primates, you have intergroup movement; in that case
>>"intragroup" signals get deployed between individuals not of
>>the same group. Granted, one is typically trying to join the
>>other's group but it's an obvious pathway to intergroup signalling,
>>especially for a memetically based signal like religion.
Now while this doesn't explain the first origin of religion,
co-opting religious signals for intergroup signals certainly
could explain the importance of religion, and almost certainly
has a lot to do with the nature of religion as we face it.
Religions and cultures have adapted to the signaling properties
of religion.
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