RT Article
T1 Let's get physical: The Ethology of Religious Submissions and Intimidations
JF Body and religion
VO 1
IS 2
SP 148
OP 168
A1 Ellis, Thomas B.
LA English
PB Equinox Publishing
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1692372777
AB The consensus in philosophical and scientific circles is that physicalism is the most warranted position to adopt. With respect to the academic study of religion, physicalism underwrites two complementary approaches, one widely recognized and the other underappreciated in the field at large. While the cognitive science of religion (CSR) enjoys widespread recognition, the ethology of religion does not. This paper employs ethology to explain two submissive behaviours ritual practitioners often perform, that is, ocular aversion and rump presentation. Significantly, the means of submission reflect the practitioner's perceptions of the intimidating agents', e.g., deities', organ of intimidation. As it is in the animal kingdom, so too in the religious imagination, dominant others, especially males, will use their eyes or their phalluses to intimidate.
K1 Ethology
K1 intimidation
K1 non-natural agents
K1 Physicalism
K1 Ritual
K1 submission
DO 10.1558/bar.33438