Oh man. This NASA photo of the “northern lights” phenomenon really blows my mind. When living in Vermont I once experienced it like that. I was in the middle of a huge field, not a single house in view. I nearly fell to my knees, so awesome was the experience.
Why almost fall to my knees? The awesomeness was certainly bigger than me. And, as a first-time experience of this magnitude, “what happens next” was unknown. Perhaps an evolutionary ancient instinct kicked in: Save your life by showing submission to forces you fear might annihilate you.
That’s just a hunch, of course. I look forward better understanding the phenomenon, via scientific research.
THE BENEFITS OF ALLIES
In the so-called “higher” primates a social proximity to the more powerful can bring an increase in personal power. Call it trickle-down status. Or status-by-association.
Consider this anecdote -
J.B. for example, large and aggressive in his own right, also enjoys the good fortune of being especially friendly with the great Mike. With Mike present, J.B. can dominate all the other mature males. But when Mike is absent, J.B. usually gives way to Goliath.
Then there is Mr. Worzle, bullied by all the other mature males except when he accompanies the high-ranking Leakey. On those occasions Mr. Worzle sometimes threatens, even attacks, one of his superiors. I could cite many more examples of this type of friendship in which the presence the more powerful partner raises the status of the other. (5)
If you haven’t guessed, the above is about chimpanzee behavior. Observed by Jane Goodall. She isn’t alone in the conclusions she made from observation of wild chimpanzees at Gombe. For example, there is this from a study of chimpanzee troop from another spot on the globe called Mahale:
Some alphas achieve their top rank by acting alone, while others rely on a key ally, who may take the beta rank. In Mahale’s M-group, Kalunde remained a kingmaker long after losing his alpha rank and into old age, by skilfull (and sometimes fickle) alliance tactics. (6)
There is an expression, friends in high places. Perhaps the “higher” would be more accurate, as ‘high’ can be relative. If you have do have a friend, one benefit is mere strength in numbers. But another is a friend who brings the benefit of status-by-association. Consider how these Bible verses reflects the theme:
Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God. (2 Chronicles 27:6)
Grew powerful relative to his peers.
[T]he LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. (Genesis 39:5)
By just being associated with Joseph, an entire household reaped benefits.
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. (Ezekiel 30:25)
Befriending the powerful can bring advantages over those who have not. Those in positions of power tend to have power they can wield . . . for your benefit, even.
Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men. (2 Kings 1:10)
BEYOND BLOOD: THE GENERALIZATION OF AN INSTINCT
research into male-female relationships among baboons has yielded this insight:
Friendships are the strongest and most enduring bonds formed between male and females. While sexual consortships last for only several days, friendships persist for as long as a year….Our colleague Ryne Palombit has amassed a variety of evidence supporting the view that friendships in baboons are a counterstrategy against infanticide. (7)
Of course, family bonds can be quite strong and are fundamental. This makes genetic sense. Thus the “reasons” for family friendliness. My genes overlap with your genes, particularly if we are closely related. So why wouldn’t I (my genes) selfishly look after copies of them in another?
Sure, parents care for children. Yet that isn’t the only way familial closeness and vested genetic interest manifests in animals. Among baboons again, adolescent sons will come to a mother’s aid in disputes. (8) Evolutionists have well-established that the closer two individuals are genetically related, the more they tend to engage in altruistic behavior toward one another. It is in the interest of their genes.
A major primate social revolution, one could argue, involved the recognition that social relationships with non-kin can also be advantageous. Provided they boost access to resources, why not expend some energy establishing a new type of relationship now in the event it pays off later?
Linking yourself to one more powerful than you is a clear innovation in social life. But from where did it originate?
I think the “relatively higher”/”relative alpha” part provides a key. To treat another as a superior, and deferring to him/her on occasion as a sign of peaceful intent, echoes an almost child to parent-like relation. Like. Not actual. Old instincts can be put to novel purposes.
If an individual shows benign intent and loyalty to another, as children generally do to their parent(s), for selfish ends, that person my reap similar reward. Namely, preferential treatment and protection. Preferential to what? To ‘hostiles,’ to possibly threatening strangers.
In terms of the new math of relational status, you might say that sometimes 2 + 3 = 1. At least when it comes to status and power.
With this innovation in relationships, individuals are aware of not only “who trumps me” but also who has relationships that trumps me and my relationships.
Oh yeah?! My brother can whip your brother; my father can whip your father! My friends can whip your friends!
Another pertinent saying: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. In the case below, Joseph knew the ‘correct’ god, which is the best god, and the non-blood warden was affected by this. Or so the story goes.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison … (Genesis 39:20-22)
ALLIES AND THE A#1 RESOURCE – STATUS
With despotic hierarchies, energy is expended in physical maintenance of status. Fight now and establish dominance so that when resources are in question — you are first in line. This dynamic yields such a payoff that those in proximity to the first-er also gain.
Social alliances originated in a distillation of this behavior. I am more than I physically appear to be because I have powerful allies. So watch out.
Social status is a resource in itself, as Robin Wright has so bluntly put it -
“Status is simply another kind of asset that people bring to the bargaining table. Or, more precisely: it is an asset that leverages other assets; it means that at little cost a person can do big favors.” (9)
And as this Bible verse illustrates -
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. (Genesis 12:2-3)
An associate can do big favors. These big favors mean that someone of supposedly lowly status but with many alliances might have a net social status actually more robust than a solitary yet physically impressive individual.
The prophet Ezekiel of the Old Testament understood this on some level when he wrote:
[O]n that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me and he took me there. In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. (Ezekiel 40:1-2)
Yes, a “very high mountain.” Status by association. Thanks to a god. Brilliant . . . even if imaginary.
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(5) Goodall, J., My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1967, p. 171
(6) McCrew, W. C., The Cultured Chimpanzee: Reflections on Cultural Primatology, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 158
(7) Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2007, p. 59
(8) Goodall, J., 1967, p. 59
(9) Wright, R., The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life, Vintage, NY, 1995, p. 283
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” (Isaiah 49:23)
Human hierarchies are a complicated thing. There are rarely clear ladders of ascension, with one individual per distinct rung. Chicken hierarchies: simple. Some primate hierarchical relations, simple as well.
You are exalted far above all gods. (Psalms 97:9)
In the above Bible verse, we see that one agent is first in line, no questions. But beneath that first rung, what? The truth: human beings often do not stand alone. Rather, their relationships to others will inform where they stand. A relationship with one on a higher rung can help elevate and maintain your own position. As the “those who hope in me” line from the opening verse illustrates.
In terms of primate behavior — and human beings are primates, their deities having the concerns and behaviors of primates — there is a notable difference between coalition and alliance: the terms for relationships advantageous to social functioning and position.
“Coalition is defined as two or more individuals joining forces against one or more individuals joining forces against one or more conspecific rivals. Now, there are many examples of coalitions in mammals and birds. However, coalitions among chimpanzees, adult males in particular, are exceptional in their frequency, complexity and flexibility. Some coalitions are so persistent that one may well call them alliances.” (1)
As for human beings, do we form coalitions or alliances? Both. Watch one episode of Survivor and you will see that our we are social opportunists. During one social event/interaction (on one issue?) we can side with and support person X. The next moment/issue, person Z. But then there certainly are those lasting relationships we remain relatively true to. We support and defend those individuals, almost without exception, we have crucial relationships with. Spouse, parent-child . . . ?
Chimpanzees, too, readily form coalitions and even lasting alliances. As Franz de Waal has noted, “A male chimpanzee’s position in the hierarchy often depends much more on his cooperative alliances with other males than is the case with male baboons.” (2)
Another noted primatologist, Allison Jolly, almost under-states the case with this conclusion: “People are not less likely to form alliances than chimpanzees.” (3)
Within a single pack of primates you will find a number of unwritten “pacts.” Sometimes blood is indeed thicker than water. But human alliances go much farther. To non-blood, close associates and more. How far to they extend? At minimum to group level. Other people are perceived as being “in group” or out. Psychological studies have found that something as basic as eye color can be used to identified cohorts.
In one study researchers found that in a rural Caribbean village adult males in two-men teams competing at a game of dominoes experienced higher testosterone and cortisol levels when competing against men from outside their village compared to when playing against village cohorts.(4)
Is it any wonder the Bible god of the Old Testament has different laws and sentiments for “one of mine” (the Israelites) and others? The commandment “do not kill” is a perfect example. For it is meant as “Do not kill a cohort – but thine enemies, have at it.”
In the following number of Alpha posts I will be exploring topics including these: the evolutionary origins of these types of social pacts, the social functions they serve, and how they are manifest in the Bible.
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(1) Nishida, T., and Hosaka, K., “Coalition strategies among adult male chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania” in McGrew, W. C. , Marchant, L. F. & Nishida, T., Great Ape Societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1996, p. 114
(2) de Waal, F. B. M., (ed.), Tree of Origin: What Primate Behavior Can Tell Us About Human Social Evolution, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2001, P. 23
(3) Jolly, A. Lucy’s Legacy, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1999, p. 410
(4) Wagner, J. D., Flinn, M. V., & England, B. G., “Hormonal response to competition among male coalitions,” in Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 23, Issue 6, November 2002, Pages 437 442.
This new bit of research found over at ScienceDaily is kindof’ interesting:
Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (University College London) in collaboration with Aarhus University in Denmark have found that the ‘reward’ area of the brain is activated when people agree with our opinions. [emphasis mine]
The news release title read, Brain Study Shows That the Opinions of Others Matters.
While this is not surprising — we’ve known this by way of behavior for quite some time, the original part is the brain study method of verification — it is important.
Why does “the opinion of others matter”? Allow me to speculate here a little. We are social animals, which means we are emotional animals — for the two are conjoined. With a pleasant feeling comes a perception of closeness/harmony. Relationships are a resource. You may want to be on a person’s “good side” in case something hits the fan and you need assistance and/or and ally.
In an extreme example, the ass-kissing yes-man attempts to tickle a superior’s “pleasure center” so as to get or remain on his or her good side. Or, in the least, to avoid being on a bad side. When conflict arises, the human brain seems to switch into “friend-or-foe?” mode. To protect our own derrieres, we prefer to not to face adversity alone, or face a more powerful and/or more peopled opposition.
In the less extreme example, a bulk of small talk seems to consist of offering up relatively trivial statements — hot enough for ya? — as a way of testing how readily another person will play along and agree with us. Not so much with the fact of the statement, but with the intent: I’m friendly, if anything I mean to please you. Perhaps even help you.
Proverbial small talk can be a means of “courting” a potential ally. Testing their potential. It can also be a way of maintaining an already established bond. But rather than money being the currency of exchange, it is pleasure. Thanks to the ventral striatum.
Have you had your ventral striatum stroked today?
A god can be many things to many people. One role “he” fills is that of the ultimate master. God the overlord. The alpha of alphas. He’s the guy who makes the rules and writes the contract. He specifies what is right, and what is no-way-Jose.
“Servants are not to talk back to their masters. You want to work hard so that your employer will make the money. If the master is wrong, that is his issue. Don’t fight back. That’s the way to get along with the boss.”
Those words were spoken by a radio preacher, in earnest, broadcasting his message across the gator-filled swamp-waters of Florida. The point: Just as you shouldn’t question your boss here on earth, for he will answer to someone bigger, you shouldn’t question your boss in heaven, because he is the biggest.
The radio preacher may have been inspired by Ephesians 6:5 (New International Version):
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Or maybe it was Colossians 3:22:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
Or perhaps 1 Timothy 6:1:
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.
Or maybe Titus 2:9:
Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them.
Then again, it could have been 1 Peter 2:18:
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
You get the picture.
What’s the ultimate message? If authority isn’t recognized, all hell will break loose? So obey your father, obey your boss, obey your preacher, and obey the most high Lord, for thou art a lowly piece of nothing, and only if thou stayest on thy back, tail betwixt thy legs, will thou ever be spared the agony of personal responsibility and the uncertainty it may bring?
Could be.
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[simultaneously posted on Atheist Nexus blogs.]
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