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I do not have contempt for religiosity. Here is some evidence for my assertion from "Tibetan Buddhism and Mass Monasticism" by Melvyn C. Goldstein: > A fourth

I do not have contempt for religiosity. Here is some evidence for my assertion from "Tibetan Buddhism and Mass Monasticism" by Melvyn C. Goldstein: > A fourth, and extremely common, type of situation occurred when parents made a son a monk as part of a strategy for organizing their family’s human resources so as to minimize the likelihood of family fragmentation and land division in the next generation. > Poverty also was very important in motivating parents to make sons monks. Very poor Tibetans with many children had two main mechanisms for balancing their income with subsistence needs. One was making one or more sons a monk as the above mentioned case of the nomad illustrated. I have only done a quick search to find references to respond to you, but I have taken it for granted people knew that monasteries in medieval Europe as well as all around the world were places where younger sons and the children of impoverished people were sent. Primogeniture was a common practice, and it not only entailed oldest sons inheriting everything, but also younger sons frequently being abused. I can search for more references and examples if you like. Once again, I would reaffirm that just because there seems to be a biological basis for this behavior, it in no way means that there is something wrong with these people- in fact, to the contrary. The development of the mind by monks across religions is a remarkable feat and the jewel of humanity- even if it is born from struggle.

Dalewyn 4y ago
When you, as head of your family, end up with multiple inheritors (read: more than one child), there is a very high chance your inheritors will fight each other, sometimes violently, for the inheritance. This is still a problem today, too. Sending the younger inheritors away to the clergy is a way of nipping such nasty family problems in the bud before they become problems. A man of the church can't inherit unless they are called back by their family. TL;DR: None of this has to do with someone's sexual fitness, and everything to do with straightening out potentially complicated family inheritances.
- beedeebeedee 4y ago
  > None of this has to do with someone's sexual fitness, and everything to do with straightening out potentially complicated family inheritances. I think the research in this article points to a biological adaptation for handling this issue before the development of monasteries as a human institution. I.e., mice don't have monasteries
  - Dalewyn 4y ago
    I am speaking strictly in regards to the human system of sending away children to become clergyman, which is a way of dealing with future inheritance problems regardless the sexual fitness of a given child. That is to say, the family picks a would-be inheritor and sends away all the others to hopefully prevent family feuds. I do not speak for mice and their culture, whatever it may be.

Dalewyn 4y ago

When you, as head of your family, end up with multiple inheritors (read: more than one child), there is a very high chance your inheritors will fight each other, sometimes violently, for the inheritance. This is still a problem today, too. Sending the younger inheritors away to the clergy is a way of nipping such nasty family problems in the bud before they become problems. A man of the church can't inherit unless they are called back by their family. TL;DR: None of this has to do with someone's sexual fitness, and everything to do with straightening out potentially complicated family inheritances.

beedeebeedee 4y ago
> None of this has to do with someone's sexual fitness, and everything to do with straightening out potentially complicated family inheritances. I think the research in this article points to a biological adaptation for handling this issue before the development of monasteries as a human institution. I.e., mice don't have monasteries
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  I am speaking strictly in regards to the human system of sending away children to become clergyman, which is a way of dealing with future inheritance problems regardless the sexual fitness of a given child. That is to say, the family picks a would-be inheritor and sends away all the others to hopefully prevent family feuds. I do not speak for mice and their culture, whatever it may be.