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Group selection and “the pious gene”

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Commentary onDavid SloanWilson and ElliottSober (1994). Reintroducing group selection to the human behavioral sciences. BBS 17:585–654

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

John Barresi
John Barresi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Canada. Jbarresi@is.dal.ca
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Abstract

If selection at the group level is to be considered more than a mere possibility, it is important to find phenomena that are best explained at this level of selection. I argue that human religious phenomena provide evidence for the selection of a “pious gene” at the group level, which results in a human tendency to believe in a transcendental reality that encourages behavioral conformity to collective as opposed to individual interest.

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Type
Continuing Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 777 - 778
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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