Feb 12 2009
An Almighty Alpha
Any post in the “Almighty Alpha” category is part of an ongoing project. Below is an overview.
My Thesis
Human beings are a social species innately inclined to recognize, create, and function within dominance hierarchies. Combined with a tendency to infer agency and to anthropomorphize, the result is the capability to believe — indeed, even an eagerness to believe — in an invisible, super troop-leader. A god. In An Almighty Alpha, I will be describing the signs and functions of dominance and submissive displays among primates. I will then describe possible correlates of these found in the writings and rituals of the Abrahamic religions. By relating the field observations of primatologists, and the behavioral themes drawn from these, and by presenting numerous Biblical quotations mirroring these same themes, I hope to make a compelling case that belief in a supernatural agent is, in part, the extension of natural inclinations beyond the real.
