University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-1998 Induced Altruism in the Maintenance of Institutionalized Celibacy Hector N. Qirko University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Qirko, Hector N., "Induced Altruism in the Maintenance of Institutionalized Celibacy. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1998. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4056 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Hector N. Qirko entitled "Induced Altruism in the Maintenance of Institutionalized Celibacy." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Anthropology. Michael H. Logan, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Benita Howell, Jan Simek, Gordon Burghardt Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Hector N. Qirko entitled "Induced Altruismin the Maintenance of Institutionalized Celibacy." I have examined the finalcopy of this dissertationfor form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Anthropology. We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted forthe Council: Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of The Graduate School INDUCEDAL TRUISM IN THE MAINTENANCE OF INSTITUTIONALIZED CELIBACY A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hector Nako Qirko May 1998 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In preparingthis dissertation, I benefitedgreatly fromthe assistanceof many individuals andorganizations. Michael H. Logan, as DissertationCommittee Chair, reviewed numerousdrafts and provided thoughtfulcriticism, patient editing,and continued encouragement. Committeemembers Gordon Burghardt, Benita Howell, and JanSimek, throughtheir detailed comments,much improved the final version. Bruce Tomaso and Gerald R. Landonassisted me with their editorial and statistical skills, respectively. The Inter-LibraryServices staffof the Universityof Tennessee library system gave me access to a largenumber of otherwise unavailablesources. I received generous financialsupport fromthe University of Tennessee Department of Anthropologyand the TennesseeValley Authority. Finally, I owe special thanks to SarahSherwood forher help in formatting and editing portions of thiswork, and aboveall for her support and encouragement throughout. ABSTRACT Celibacy is analtruistic act when it involves anindividual's sacrificeof lifelong reproductionfor the benefit of others. Where this occurs forthe primary benefitof non­ kin, as in many institutions which demand celibacy of their members, it will often be difficultto maintain. This dissertation explores the institutionalized maintenanceand reinforcementof celibacy vows throughthe concept of induced altruism. Because humansgenerally recognizekin only by meansof indirect cues, these cues may be manipulatedso that individualsbehave altruisticallyfor the benefitof non-kin. Human kinship-recognition cues include association,phenotypic similarity, andthe use of kinship termsand symbols. Additional factors which canaid kinship manipulationinclude young developmental age of potential altruists and their separationfrom truekin. A central prediction stemming fromthis model is that the manipulation of these kinship recognition cues andassociated factors should be present in celibate institutions whose members are unlikely to be close genetic relatives. An appraisal of historicalsources on major religions that exhibit institutionalized celibacy, as well as a comparativeanalysis of ethnographic data drawnfrom the Sample of Cross-CulturalSocieties, support this prediction. TABLEOF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. THEORETICAL PERSPECTNES . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 "Standard social science" models .. ............ ... ... ........ 12 Interactionist models . .. 18 Darwinianmodels . .. 21 Evolutionarypsychology . .. .. 24 3. CELIBACY AS ALTRUISM ................................. 26 Altruism . .. .. .. .. 26 Biological altruism . .. .. .. .. .. 28 Psychological altruism . .. .. .. 32 Celibacy andmanipulated altruism ............ ... ............ 35 Kinship recognitionmechanisms and humancognition . .. .. .. .. .. 45 Researchmodel . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54 4. HISTORICALDATA ........................... ............... 60 Christianrty . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. 60 Buddhism . .. .. .. .. .. 67 Hinduism ......................................................... 77 . 0ther re 1g1ous1. organizations .................................. 85 Jainism .......................................................... 85 Islamicdervish groups ........................................ 88 Protestant celibate sects ...................................... 90 Supportfor predictions ... ....................................... 94 5. CROSS-CULTURALDATA .................................. 108 Methodology . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 108 Celibacy absent . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 113 Non-institutionalized celibacy .. .. .. .. 116 Unlikely institutionalized celibacy . .. .. 120 Institutionalized celibacy.. .. .. .. 127 Individual contexts . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 129 Kin contexts .. ............... ... ...... ... ...... ... ... ........ 135 Non-kin contexts............................................... 141 Supportfor predictions . .. .. .. .. 168 6. DISCUSSION .................................................... 181 7. CONCLUSIONS ................................................ 198 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................... .................... 205 APPENDIC ES............................................................. 244 Appendix A . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 245 Appendix B . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 256 VITA....................................................................... 264 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Categories of PermanentAbstinence in the Cross-Cultural Sample . 114 2. Categories of PermanentAbstinence in InstitutionalContexts . 128 3. PermanentAbstinence in Institutions: Contexts andPatterning of Kin Cue Manipulation .......................................................- . 1 70 4. Distribution of Kin Cue Manipulation Practices in Sample Societies Exhibiting InstitutionalCelibacy . 171 5. Non-kin Institutionalized Celibacy by Population Size, Population Density, andLevel of Political Integration: Analysesof Total Sample...... .... 175 6. Non-kin Institutionalized Celibacy by Population Size, Population Density, and Level of Political Integration: Analysesof Societies Exhibiting Institutionalized Celibacy ................................................. 176 7. Celibacy andLevels of Political Integration . 179 CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION Vows or decisions of lifelong sexual abstinence appear difficult to understandin evolutionary terms. Richard Dawkins (1995:2) says that we "love lifeand love sex and love children" because each of us comes from anunbroken line of ancestorswho were able to survive andreproduce. Ridley (1993:4) goes further: "Reproduction is the sole goal for which human beings aredesigned; everything else is a means to that end." Darwinianevolutionary theory is predicated on a drive forreproductive survival; behavior favoredby selection should therefore be that which leads to individual reproductive success (Archer 1991). Thus, froma Darwinianperspective, a decision -­ conscious or unconscious -- by normal, healthy individuals to forego reproductionseems to makeno sense. 1 Yet it is a decision individuals do make. Sometimesit is only temporary, as in the case of young Americanswho choose to remainchaste until marriage (Wyattet al. 1988). Similarly,Cheyenne men initiated into the Dog Soldier warrior society pledged celibacy for a period of seven years(Moore 1990). Often, however, the decision to remaincelibate is made for life. The most familiarexamples are monastic orders, where initiates vow to foregoall reproductive behaviors. 1 For introductionsto Darwinianevolutionary theory and, specifically,the role of individual reproduction, see Alexander 1979, 1987; Dawkins 1976, 1995; Symons 1979; Williams1966. The present researchfocuses on how the concept of induced or manipulated altruismmay facilitatethe reinforcement andmaintenance of celibacy2in institutionalized settings. In evolutionaryterms, lifelong sexual abstinence canbe construedas sacrifice performedfor others, and evolutionarytheory predicts that individuals may sacrifice themselves forthe benefitof genetic relatives. However, because humans generally recognizekin only by meansof indirect cues, they can be manipulated into behaving altruistically towardnon-kin. Theoryand research on kin recognition suggest thatclose association and