The evolution and economics of sacred value

本项目旨在使用多学科方法来研究神圣价值，这是一种由个人或团体持有的极端道德承诺。冲突和暴力往往围绕着对神圣价值的威胁，人们很难用正统的经济分析方法来预测物质激励与神圣承诺之间的相互作用。利用进化人类学和经济学的技术，该项目预计将确定神圣价值背后的机制，并产生代表神圣价值的新方法。通过提供一套更微妙的工具，在冲突地区代表神圣的价值观，这项研究将加强民主文化和促进对国际冲突的理解。

This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate sacred value, a type of extreme moral commitment held by an individual or group. Conflict and violence often revolve around perceived threats to sacred value, and there is a struggle to predict the interaction between material incentives and sacred commitments using orthodox methods of economic analysis. Using techniques from evolutionary anthropology and economics, this project expects to identify the mechanisms that underlie sacred value, and generate novel ways of representing sacred values. By providing a more nuanced set of tools for representing sacred values in areas of conflict, this research will strengthen democratic culture and advance understanding of international conflict.