Early Social Innovations: Belief Systems

Abstract

This paper addresses the next phase in the development of living systems science, which includes the science of society.  The principles of this science have been developed.  The next phase of the science is an elaboration of the social innovation determinant of the science of society.  Early social innovations are belief systems.  The basic phenomenon causing the need for belief systems is the increased size of the human brain since the emergence of Homo sapiens.  The large brain resulted in two fundamental phenomena, the concepts of mortality and rational behaviors.  The concept of mortality and the genetically determined need for survival resulted in the concept of an after life (immortality).  Some early humans invented belief systems based on the concept of an afterlife.  The concept of rational behavior (reason for  things that happen) resulted in the belief that some thing or things cause events to occur.  It  is hypothesized that the mortality and rationality phenomena resulted in the innovation of belief system and the religions to implement these belief systems.  These hypotheses are tested using artifact of ancient humans and recent primitive humans.