A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History

North, Douglass C.; Wallis, John; Weingast, Barry R.

doi:10.3386/w12795

Cited by 383 publications

(511 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Violent intergroup competition often leads to high death rates and much destruction of property. The rule of law evolved to limit the costs of such conflicts (49,50). Thus, there is a paradox here.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective action and the evolution of social norm internalization

Gavrilets

Richerson

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

213

159

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Human behavior is strongly affected by culturally transmitted norms and values. Certain norms are internalized (i.e., acting according to a norm becomes an end in itself rather than merely a tool in achieving certain goals or avoiding social sanctions). Humans' capacity to internalize norms likely evolved in our ancestors to simplify solving certain challenges-including social ones. Here we study theoretically the evolutionary origins of the capacity to internalize norms. In our models, individuals can choose to participate in collective actions as well as punish free riders. In making their decisions, individuals attempt to maximize a utility function in which normative values are initially irrelevant but play an increasingly important role if the ability to internalize norms emerges. Using agent-based simulations, we show that norm internalization evolves under a wide range of conditions so that cooperation becomes "instinctive." Norm internalization evolves much more easily and has much larger effects on behavior if groups promote peer punishment of free riders. Promoting only participation in collective actions is not effective. Typically, intermediate levels of norm internalization are most frequent but there are also cases with relatively small frequencies of "oversocialized" individuals willing to make extreme sacrifices for their groups no matter material costs, as well as "undersocialized" individuals completely immune to social norms. Evolving the ability to internalize norms was likely a crucial step on the path to large-scale human cooperation.H uman social behavior is controlled by many interacting factors including material cost-benefit considerations, genetically informed social instincts, personality, and culturally transmitted norms, values, and institutions (1-5). A social norm is a behavior that one is expected to follow and expects others to follow in a given social situation (6, 7). Humans learn norms from parents, through educational and religious practices, and from friends and acquaintances, books, and media. The adherence to norms is socially reinforced by the approval of, and rewards to, individuals who follow them and punishment of norm violators. Certain norms are internalized, that is, acting according to a norm becomes an end in itself rather than merely a tool in achieving certain goals or avoiding social sanctions (1, 2, 8-11). For individuals who have strongly internalized a norm, violating it is psychologically painful even if the direct material benefits for the violation are positive. Many individuals and groups are willing to pay extremely high costs to enact, defend, or promulgate norms that they consider important (12). At the same time, virtually all norms can be violated by individuals under some conditions (e.g., if the costs of compliance are too high). Norms thus can be viewed as one of the arguments in the utility function that each individual maximizes (9).Internalizing a norm has two significant effects upon human behavior: People who have internalized a norm follow...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective action and the evolution of social norm internalization

Gavrilets

Richerson

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

213

159

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“…Distinction between advanced market economies and the economy of Ukraine can be best understood within the framework put forward by North et al (2005North et al ( , 2006North et al ( , and 2007. According to their classification, Ukraine falls into the category of the "mature limited access order" (MLAO) states.…”

Section: Cycles In Ukrainementioning

confidence: 99%

Composite Leading Indicators for Ukraine: An Early Warning Model

Szyrmer

Dubrovskiy²,

Golodniuk

2009

SSRN Journal

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“…The complexity involved in the uses and abuses of the term is further identified by North, Wallis, and Weingast (2009) when they note that the manifestation of the phenomenon in various dimensions poses serious difficulty to the task of articulating a definite definition of the term. According to these authors:…”

Section: Defining Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

A Discourse on the Ontology of Violence

Shitta-Bey

2016

Kaygı. Uludağ Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Felsefe Dergisi

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The sophistication and reoccurrence of violence has continued to gain increasing attention in contemporary discourse. Scholars that take interest in the study of violence have made efforts only in understanding and addressing the causes, forms, and the management mechanism. Such intellectual efforts have proved not to be sufficiently adequate as evident by the recurring decimal of violence in limitless proportion, even in places where it has been under-studied. This inadequacy has made the need for renewed interest in the study of the nature and dynamics of violence imperative. Concerned about the lack of consideration for the ontological root of violence in previous studies, this paper seeks to critically explore the ontology of violence. It aims at examining classical philosophical texts on human nature with a view to expose the ontological origin of violence and shows how such consideration is apt in the understanding, addressing, and management of violence; that is, this paper makes a case for the study of the ontology of violence as a way of addressing the lacuna currently existing in the studies on violence. Thus, it argues that this ontological study entails as a matter of necessity an understanding of human nature in relation to the subject-matter of violence. The methodology used in achieving the aim of this paper is the analytic and phenomenological approaches, that is, analysis and phenomenological examination of textual materials are employed by the study.

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A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History

Cited by 383 publications

References 51 publications

Collective action and the evolution of social norm internalization

Collective action and the evolution of social norm internalization

Composite Leading Indicators for Ukraine: An Early Warning Model

A Discourse on the Ontology of Violence

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