Jan 27 2009
Friends in High Places
“Despite his paralyzed right arm, Faben learned to perform spectacular bipedal charging displays; when Figan displayed at rival males, Faben almost always joined in to help his brother. Indeed, it was Faben who helped Figan to attain the alpha position.”
- Jane Goodall (17)Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. (1 Samuel 12:18)
Chimpanzees are social animals: they can work together and form alliances to advance their causes, whether that cause is hunting a colubus monkey for meat or acquiring/defending status within the troop.
Within a chimpanzee society, the alpha will frequently charge at subordinates, frightening them. From something of a functionalist perspective, the purpose of the threat display is “to maintain or challenge the existing social order.” (18) Beta/subordinate chimps, as in the case of Faben above, will often join their ally in a charge. Why? To help the alpha maintain his position. And to help their own position, for they are associated with the alpha. Furthermore, whenever one primate frightens another, he can gain an upper hand. Other chimps may become classically conditioned, to a degree, to respond to the solo’s charge when it has been successfully paired in the past with the alpha’s.
Among human’s, there is great value in having friends in high places: a big friend, a big brother, a bigger father–one that can trump your opposition’s friend, brother or father. To give heft to your threat and aid in you in your causes.
In many a Bible verse you will find a human beta calling upon their great, invisible alpha for assistance in their own, or in a mutual, cause. God is a friend in a high place; he is the absolute biggest entity one can form an alliance with. Okay, he may not exist, but do those who oppose you know and trust that?
Consider these Bible verses and my analysis of them:
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt.’” (Exodus 19:3-4)
Moses and God: now that was one fantastic Faben/Figan alliance. Was Moses doing his alpha’s work, following orders from above, or was he bluffing to advance his own cause and position?
His anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. (Numbers 11:1-2)
Moses apparently has the ear of the biggest agent around. By following him and his special link to the great alpha, followers created a second-order alliance. What they gained was protection. Protection from external agents, sure. But protection primarily from the biggest and baddest agent that reigned above their group.
This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. (2 Chronicles 29:9-10)
A covenant with the Lord . . . no need to spell this out. So much of the Bible is about entering into a special relationship with the Big Guy and staying true to it. Or else.
[A]postles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. (Acts 5:12)
Why did the apostles perform these miracles, and how were the able to? Their alliance with Jesus.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. (Acts 8:6)
Philip had an alliance with Jesus and was thus able to do great things. His miracles were akin to “charging” displays. “Look at my power.” By doing great things, Philip was able to maintain/challenge a social order.
The previous is just an introductory exploration of the topic of the function of alliances within primate hierarchies. I will later explore in greater detail the concept of “Pacts Within a Pack.” Alliances can bring benefits to aspiring social climbers. Even if one’s ally is all bluff.
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(17) Goodall, J. The Chimpanzees of the Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1986, p. 64
(18) Goodall, J., 1986, p, 417
