[Dean's World] Dave Price: Why Are Nearly All Suicide Bombers Muslim?

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
Why Are Nearly All Suicide Bombers Muslim?
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1192039832.shtml


   That's one of the questions [1]this book (via [2]Glenn) asks -- and
   their answer probably isn't something Robert Spencer would like any
   more than Muslims, or for that the Christian religious Right would
   approve of.
   The authors, who are evolutionary psychologists, assert that the
   correlation is actually the result of just two lines in the Koran --
   the one permitting polygamy and the one promising 72 virgins -- while
   the rest is just a product of how our evolved psychology reacts to the
   situation of polygamy.
   The authors find evidence that polygamy (at least, the many women for
   one man version) causes young men to be far more violent in all
   societies in which it occurs. Why? Because it forces so many men to be
   total reproductive losers by ensuring the high-status men monopolize
   the available wives (as opposed to monogamous societies, where there
   is generally one woman available for every man), beacuse the resulting
   competition is so violent, and because successful reproduction reduces
   men's tendency to be violent.
   Interestingly, there is considerable evidence polygamy is man's
   natural state, and societies probably devised monogamy as a means to
   reduce violent competition.
   The authors make the point that a man with even one real-world wife is
   unlikely to trade her for 72 in the afterlife, but in a situation
   where no women are available, it starts to sound a lot better. This
   makes sense to me. Guys, think about having 72 hot virgins -- really
   think about it (you know what I mean). If you had little prospect of
   finding a real woman, that fantasy might quickly become obsession.
   But are they right? I don't know for sure, but it seems persuasive.
   Anyways, it's a fun read, since evolutionary psychology is all about
   sex. Some of their conclusions seem overstated, but they draw a lot of
   sensible conclusions about why humans behave the way they do, based on
   who we are descended from (successful reproducers) and who we are not
   descended from (reproductive losers).

References

   1. http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-People-Have-More-Daughters/dp/0399533656/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5672421-7073448?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192039352&sr=8-1
   2. http://www.instapundit.com/