Religion, Economy, and Cooperation

Description

This volume addresses the issue of religion and economy in the evolution of human cooperation. Both religious practices and economic behaviour create and sustain intra-group cooperation by providing people with common goals and values. Even if individuals are selfish maximizers of utility, in the end everybody benefits from being part of a cooperative community, the market. The rules of the market are the invisible hand which turns selfishness into cooperation. In the same way, God beliefs constrain individual selfishness and ensure cooperation within the group. Frontmatter Contents Servants of Two Masters: Religion, Economy, and Cooperation Religious Culture and Cooperative Prediction under Risk: Perspectives from Social Neuroscience Rational Choice Theory and Bounded Rationality Playing against Superior Beings in Religion, Technology and Economy Durkheim and Psychology Religion and the Emergence of the Rule of Law† Max Weber Revisited The Market, God, and the Ascetic Life Backmatter