Why would anyone want to believe in Big Gods?

Inti A. Brazil, Miguel Farias

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)
    63 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    We suggest an alternative explanation for the emergence of Big Gods that places less emphasis on the role of cognitive tendencies and selection of prosocial cultural variants. Instead, we argue that the fundamental motivation to reduce uncertainty and increase long-term predictability provides a better account for the rise of Big moralizing Gods in a complex and heavily regulated social environment.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbere7
    Pages (from-to)24-25
    Number of pages2
    JournalBehavioral and Brain Sciences
    Volume39
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 7 Mar 2016

    Bibliographical note

    © Cambridge University Press

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
    • Physiology
    • Language and Linguistics
    • Linguistics and Language
    • Behavioral Neuroscience

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