Summary of Hector A. Garcia's Alpha God

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The majority of the world’s religions portray a god that is fearsome and male. This god is the source of violence and oppression, and his depiction demands reckoning.
#2 God was created in the image of man. Men have historically used God to justify their worst impulses, and this has been evident throughout religious history. Men have sought dominance in the manner of male apes, using violence to obtain evolutionary rewards such as food, territory, and sex.
#3 The god of the Abrahamic religions, and the gods of many other religions around the world, is a dominant alpha male. He has acquired power and used it to control material and reproductive resources.
#4 The premise of this book is that God is not a dominant ape, and that religion is not used to justify out-group hatred or violence. Rather, religion is used to navigate interactions with other humans, and it is these instinctive drives that are behind every form of violence and oppression.

Sujets

• Life Sciences
• Sciences et techniques
• Biology
• Evolution
• 454 Life Sciences
• Science
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 11 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822505353
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Hector A. Garcia's Alpha God
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The majority of the world’s religions portray a god that is fearsome and male. This god is the source of violence and oppression, and his depiction demands reckoning.

#2

God was created in the image of man. Men have historically used God to justify their worst impulses, and this has been evident throughout religious history. Men have sought dominance in the manner of male apes, using violence to obtain evolutionary rewards such as food, territory, and sex.

#3

The god of the Abrahamic religions, and the gods of many other religions around the world, is a dominant alpha male. He has acquired power and used it to control material and reproductive resources.

#4

The premise of this book is that God is not a dominant ape, and that religion is not used to justify out-group hatred or violence. Rather, religion is used to navigate interactions with other humans, and it is these instinctive drives that are behind every form of violence and oppression.

#5

God is a dominant figure in many religions, and he typically follows patterns of dominance rather than prestige. The Abrahamic god’s use of dominance is robust, and the use of fear to maintain rank is widely documented.

#6

The divine is often described as being omnibenevolent and all-knowing. However, this is not the case for all gods. The gods of the Middle East, for example, were often aggressive and used violence to acquire territory and control resources.

#7

The history of god concepts and religious practices shows how humans have projected their desires and fears onto supernatural beings to explain the natural world. The Abrahamic god, who rose to power through violence and killing, is a product of this history.

#8

As people moved from nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers into larger agrarian societies, their religious needs changed to reflect a new lifestyle. Gods began to more actively regulate social interactions and punish breeches of morality and cooperation.

#9

Gods moved towards monotheism alongside high-ranking men who were able to consolidate entire populations under autocratic rule. The historical uses for these gods were the male-typical pursuits of territory and power.

#10

The Israelites were initially polytheistic, and Yahweh was a god that emerged from a pantheon of other gods. Conquest involving the slaughter of entire cities was not uncommon, and there was a growing need for protection from such attacks.

#11

In environments marred by warfare and existential uncertainty, the religions of a people will reflect these factors. The Israelites were no exception, and their god reflected this.

#12

The Israelites were also exiled and held in captivity for nearly fifty years after being conquered by the Babylonians during the fifth century BCE. The concept of God began evolving from You shall have no other gods before me to There are no other gods.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The history of humans and religion is similar to the history of Mesopotamia and violence. We have created man-based gods that watch over us while we sleep, and they require our allegiance.

#2

The scope of Darwin's contribution was profound. His theory of natural selection paved the way for a godless evolutionism in which individual species were not placed here separately, but in which all life's vast diversity has a common origin.

#3

Natural selection is an algorithmic process by which genetic design is passed down across generations. The two necessary components for natural selection are individual differences and differential reproduction.

#4

Mate competition and mate selection are two other forces that drive evolution. They are the result of individual differences that confer a competitive advantage being selected for and shaping the course of evolution.

#5

Elk cows, like females of other species, are not passively waiting for a victor whom they receive with no say. They prefer the victors of rigorous competition because the victors often bear traits of strength, courage, and determination, which benefits their offspring.

#6

Mate selection also applies to male preference. For example, men's attraction to women's physical features is based on the fact that physical health equates to reproductive viability. Thus, men are attracted to youthful, healthful-looking women.

#7

The strategic differences between men and women are that men have a tendency to monopolize females, and this is because their strategy is quantity rather than quality. Women have a strategy of quality, and this is why they are selective about who they have sex with.

#8

The evolutionary origins of male jealousy are clear. It makes sense that male gods would be jealous, as they would have avoided cuckoldry, which would have resulted in their not passing on genes coding for jealousy.

#9

Men are prone to jealousy, and they will go out of their way to ensure that resources and love do not get shared with other men.