The power of the almighty "C".

AuthorPenman, Jim
PositionReligion

"Religious teachings not only help people to cooperate better in large groups, they create the very temperament that is needed if civilization is to flourish."

BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS such as nuclear monogamous families, slow breeding, and "hard work" are characteristic of animals in food-restricted environments, and also of civilized human societies. We also see that limited food tends to produce the behavior that helps animals prosper in these environments. Human cultures, especially religious systems, change temperament and behavior in a way that mimics the effects of food shortage--even when food is not especially short. Such changes help societies to prosper and expand.

Biohistory refers to the array of traits that makes up this civilized temperament by the shorthand label "C," because people with high C have a temperament better suited to the needs of civilization. A person or group of people can have high C or low C, depending on environmental pressures and the strength of the cultural technology. In short, high C is a physiological system that makes people harder working, better at trade, and more supportive of strong states. It also causes them to delay breeding and form nuclear monogamous families.

Before we can understand how individuals and, thus, societies achieve a higher level of C without food shortage, it is important to understand how the C system works. In the terminology of biohistory, anything that raises C is a "C-promoter." A C-promoter can be identified as anything that reduces testosterone. This does not mean that high C societies always have low testosterone, because high C parents treat their children in ways that can have quite different effects but, in terms of their effect on adults, this is the easiest way to identify a C-promoter.

We have seen from human and animal studies that mild hunger reduces testosterone, which makes hunger a C-promoter. People with low testosterone tend to be less sexually active and aggressive, more passive in face-to-face encounters, and have more-stable sexual partnerships. They take a greater interest in their children and are more likely to control their behavior. They also are less outgoing, and tend to socialize less. Men with lower testosterone tend to excel at jobs that require hard work and delayed payoffs. Examples include farming, engineering, and business.

The occupations that favor high-testosterone men are sports, entertainment, and, to some extent, the military. High-testosterone men are more likely to be unemployed. This is contrary to the popular idea that dominant and high testosterone men are...

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