The Evolution Of Human Co-operation: Ritual And Social Complexity In Stateless Societies
by Charles Stanish /
2017 / English / PDF
21 MB Download
How do people living in small groups without money, markets, police
and rigid social classes develop norms of economic and social
cooperation that are sustainable over time? This book addresses
this fundamental question and explains the origin, structure and
spread of stateless societies. Using insights from game theory,
ethnography and archaeology, Stanish shows how ritual - broadly
defined - is the key. Ritual practices encode elaborate rules of
behavior and are ingenious mechanisms of organizing society in the
absence of coercive states. As well as asking why and how people
choose to co-operate, Stanish also provides the theoretical
framework to understand this collective action problem. He goes on
to highlight the evolution of cooperation with ethnographic and
archaeological data from around of the world. Merging evolutionary
game theory concepts with cultural evolutionary theory, this book
will appeal to those seeking a transdisciplinary approach to one of
the greatest problems in human evolution.
How do people living in small groups without money, markets, police
and rigid social classes develop norms of economic and social
cooperation that are sustainable over time? This book addresses
this fundamental question and explains the origin, structure and
spread of stateless societies. Using insights from game theory,
ethnography and archaeology, Stanish shows how ritual - broadly
defined - is the key. Ritual practices encode elaborate rules of
behavior and are ingenious mechanisms of organizing society in the
absence of coercive states. As well as asking why and how people
choose to co-operate, Stanish also provides the theoretical
framework to understand this collective action problem. He goes on
to highlight the evolution of cooperation with ethnographic and
archaeological data from around of the world. Merging evolutionary
game theory concepts with cultural evolutionary theory, this book
will appeal to those seeking a transdisciplinary approach to one of
the greatest problems in human evolution.