Warfare, Man's Indoctrinability and Group Selection
Abstract
The ethological study of human behavior from a cross-cultural perspective reveals a number of behavioral patterns which came about by individual selection that serve to establish and maintain bonds. It is argued that through these bonding patterns groups become so tightly knit that they could act as units of selection. Thus new traits that would not have persisted on the basis of individual selection alone became stabilized and accentuated. Examples discussed are man's warfare ethics, his indoctrinability to identify with values, to obey authority, and his ethics of sharing.
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Indoctrinability might be linked to an evolved psychological predisposition for prepared or constrained learning of what is important for group-living, self-interested individuals: learning about group-cohesion and maintenance of group-boundaries.
“As an individual disposition, indoctrinability might be linked to an evolved psychological predisposition for prepared or constrained learning (Plotkin, 1998) of what is important for a species of group-living, but self-interested, individuals: learning about group-cohesion and the maintenance of group-boundaries (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1982, 1998).”
From Durkheim, Indoctrinability and the Moral Ambivalence of Human Sociality (2026) · cites this paper as Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1982
Morality and particular ways of regulating social interaction, e.g. by punishing norm violators or executing anti-social bullies, determine the probability and the quality of collective goods.
“For instance, morality and particular ways of regulating social interaction, e.g. by punishing norm violators (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1982: 187;Henrich, 2016: 196) or executing anti-social bullies (Boehm, 2000: 72-73; Wrangham 2019a: 146-153), determine the probability and the quality of collective goods.”
From Durkheim, Indoctrinability and the Moral Ambivalence of Human Sociality (2026) · cites this paper as Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1982
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Durkheim, Indoctrinability and the Moral Ambivalence of Human Sociality
Windzio, M. (2026) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-026-09531-2
- Authors
- Eibl-eibesfeldt, I.
- Venue
- Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-04-26
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 177-198
- ISSN
- 0044-3573 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2058273325
- Cited by
- 86
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 2.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- group selection, individual selection, human ethology, cross-cultural behavior, social bonding, obedience to authority, ethics of sharing, group cohesion
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