Separation and Its Discontents: Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism
Particular attention is paid to three major manifestations of Western anti-Semitism: the development of institutionalized anti-Semitism in the Roman Empire, the Iberian Inquisitions, and the phenomenon of Nazism. All of these movements exhibited a powerful gentile group cohesion in opposition to Judaism as a group strategy, and MacDonald argues that each may be analyzed as a reaction to the presence of Judaism as a highly successful group evolutionary strategy. Because of the repeated occurrence of anti-Semitism, Jews have developed a highly flexible array of strategies to minimize its effects. These include: crypsis during periods of persecution, controls on Jewish behavior likely to lead to anti-Semitism, and the manipulation of gentile attitudes toward Jews. This controversial work challenges prevailing views. Students and scholars involved with evolutionary approaches to human behavior and Jewish Studies will be interested, as will social scientists and historians in general. |
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... Jew would be expected not only to distinguish sharply between Jews and gentiles , but to view gentiles as characterized by a number of negative traits ( e.g. , stupidity , drunkenness ) , while Jews would be viewed as characterized by ...
... Jews approved of gentiles who worshipped other gods - not as support for large - scale conversion by the gentile elite . Also , as Feldman ( 1993 , 441 ) points out , it would be in the interest of wealthy , powerful gentiles to ...
... Jews and gen- tiles are motivated solely by fear that the latter may be converted to Judaism or that Judaism will ... gentiles dovetailed with a deeper concern that Jewish males were competing with Christian males for access to females .
Contents
THEMES OF ANTISEMITISM | 27 |
REACTIVE ANTISEMITISM IN | 89 |
THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD | 115 |
Copyright | |
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Separation and Its Discontents: Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism Kevin MacDonald No preview available - 2003 |
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Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development Robert G. Burgess,Kevin MacDonald Limited preview - 2005 |