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Theocracy and the Evolution of Morals |
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WITTMAN Donald |
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Affiliation: Department of Economics, University of California |
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Keywords: Relation between Church and States, Theocracies, Economics |
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| Abstract: | This paper considers the evolution of moral sentiments in humans and the evolution of religious institutions and their relationship to political institutions. In particular, we delve into the strengths and weaknesses of theocracies. One question we ask is why theocracies have been rare in the last 200 years in western European countries. That is, instead of asking why we have theocracies, we ask why we don’t see them in the modern western world.
The structure of the paper is as follows: We first observe that the starkest version of Homo Economicus does not adequately explain human behavior. We then ask why evolution might lead to humans having pro-social emotions and a desire to act “morally.” Having laid the groundwork regarding individual motivation, we then ask how religions and other cultural institutions respond to this need. Finally, we consider the evolution of political institutions, particularly theocracies. |
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