RT Article
T1 Dominance Hierarchies and Health: Constructing Personal Zones of Spiritual Power and Healing in Modern Medicine
JF Journal of religion and health
VO 45
IS 3
SP 328
OP 345
A1 Hutch, Richard A. 1945-
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
YR 2006
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1668862859
AB Ethological studies of animals in groups and sociobiology indicate that hierarchies of dominance amongst some species ensure the survival of the group. When transferred to human groups, dominance hierarchies suggest a crucial role played by recasting the scope of such hierarchies of dominant and subordinate members to included "hyper-dominant beings." A recognition of such beings as even more dominant than the socially dominant members of a hierarchy facilitates the empowerment of the socially subordinate members. Religious belief and practice works to establish such hyper-dominant beings ("gods," "goddesses," and so forth) as superior members of human groups. Doing so is a means of ensuring the survival of the species and, thus, enhancing healing and human health. The "doctor-patient" relationship is examined from such a point of view, with an emphasis on whether the hierarchy created by the relationship allows consideration of alternative and complementary forms of medical treatment.
K1 dominance
K1 Ethology
K1 Healing
K1 Medicine
K1 Spirituality
DO 10.1007/s10943-006-9036-7