71102.pdf

actions has to be performed in a special manner.Blessing the goat and worshipping it require specific formulae. The cleaning of ...

performed in the specific way prescribed. (Even in places where the- ologians produce such interpretations—Hindu ritual would be ...

going through all this complicated, dangerous and clearly irrelevant rigmarole? Since boys do grow up eventually, why not just a ...

to appease the gods' anger or secure their protection. So this would imply that ritual is an atavism.In this view, humans first ...

such a mystery once we understand how human minds understand (and often misunderstand) the web of social relations around them. ...

What would create this impression? A first explanation would be that the rituals are addressed to or involve powerful gods and s ...

meal should also be flawless, and no one should sniff them as that would probably pollute them.^11 OBSESSIVE RULES What psycholo ...

in repetitive gestures; there is a sense that great dangers lie in not per- forming these routines, or in deviating from the usu ...

URGENCY AND RITUAL PRECAUTIONS The similarities highlighted by Fiske do not mean that rituals are obsessive behaviors. But they ...

This is only one aspect of the phenomenon. Behavioral gadgets may be attention-demanding but they are used for particular pur- p ...

future cooperation can be established is clearly available to people the world over, without further explanation, since such inf ...

whole group. Sacrificial rituals are very often performed in this spirit of unconditional sharing, in contrast with ordinary soc ...

However, going through initiation is very far from either attending college or going to summer camp. The secret knowledge is mor ...

a series of unannounced, violent ordeals that have nothing to do with the official "secret." This way of instituting a real and ...

accepted pain. But that is not the only effect. A necessary requirement for all successful cooperation in the form of coalitions ...

but people know perfectly well that any two adults could enter into some long-term sexual and economic partnership without the r ...

a lot of noise. Where resources allow, using visual pageantry is another common way of making sure the new union is noticed by a ...

GAME THEORY IS FOR ALIENS In previous chapters I described various psychological aspects of social interaction: for instance, mo ...

Why are we not all sophisticated game theorists? Why do we have vague concepts (this person is "likeable," this group is "friend ...

race, lineage or gender. Also, in all human groups people have con- sciously accessible concepts of social relations, folk theor ...