FOUNDATION FOR THE STUDY OF POLITICAL PATHOLOGY

Andrew Hammer

Presents

Scott Atran & Richard Koenigsberg

On Sacred Values/Sacred Object and Political Violence

 

No one "submits" papers/articles to the Foundation for the Study of Political Pathology. We select papers and articles, thus publishing the work of many of the greatest scholars in the world.


And since we reach over 7000 scholars and students with each piece we publish, far more people read a paper published here than in even the most popular scholarly journals.


SCOTT ATRAN is one of the authors whose work has been published frequently in this space.


He's one of the bravest scholars I've ever met. His research includes interviews with terrorists in their home territory. He has risked his life in pursuit of the truth.


Below are summaries of just a few of the articles by Atran that we have published. Click through any of the links below to read complete publications.


Richard Koenigsberg

Director of the Foundation

 

Koenigsberg & Atran on dying & killing for sacred objects/values

Richard Koenigsberg and Scott Atran explain why people sacrifice their lives and kill for abstractions. Koenigsberg calls these abstractions "sacred objects"—symbolic entities like nations, flags, and leaders that societies elevate to transcendent status. Atran emphasizes "sacred values"—deeply held moral commitments, such as religious beliefs and honor, that resist rational calculation. Though they frame the problem differently, both theorists argue that violence and self-sacrifice stem from non-material attachments, sacred objects serving as the symbolic vessels through which sacred values are enacted and defended.

Scott Atran: Sacred Values and the power of absurdity

Anthropologist Scott Atran examines the paradox of how humans bond around "sacred values"—transcendent ideals like God, country, or honor that exist beyond rational cost-benefit analysis and drive people to sacrifice themselves. He argues that these seemingly absurd commitments are actually humanity's most powerful social glue, enabling large-scale cooperation and collective action in ways pure reason cannot explain. Atran contends that intractable conflicts rooted in sacred values cannot be resolved through utilitarian logic alone and must be addressed on their own terms, suggesting that science has neglected this fundamental dimension of human nature.

Dying for Sacred Values: SCOTT ATRAN at the United Nations

Scott Atran presented to the UN Security Council on how humans are motivated to make extreme sacrifices—including violence—for sacred values (abstract ideals about identity and group membership) rather than material self-interest. Sacred values, rooted historically in religion but now including secular ideologies, are characterized by their incompatibility with economic trade-offs and immunity to rational cost-benefit analysis. Atran's research demonstrates that people committed to sacred values follow rigid moral rules, resist incentive-based negotiations, maintain unwavering group solidarity, and process violations emotionally rather than logically—patterns that help explain behavior in conflict zones worldwide.

Scott Atran--Human beings die & kill to preserve a transcendent ideal (Scott Atran)

Scott Atran argues that humans are uniquely driven to kill and die for abstract, transcendent ideals rather than for survival or family protection. He distinguishes between sacred values—which motivate action regardless of success—and material values, noting that people form strong bonds with anonymous strangers based on shared moral or ideological conceptions rather than genetic kinship. This capacity to sacrifice for transcendent ideals fundamentally shapes human group behavior and conflict.

Atran & Koenigsberg on Sacred Values

This newsletter presents findings from anthropologist Scott Atran on how sacred values—abstract ideals like religion, nationalism, or political systems—drive political violence, warfare, genocide, and terrorism. Atran argues that humans are willing to kill and die not for biological survival, but to defend and prove the supremacy of their society's sacred ideals, making such violence a form of spirituality rather than psychopathology. The authors contend that this dynamic is universal across civilizations and that the willingness to sacrifice oneself and others serves as proof of the sacred ideal's power.

Atran & Koenigsberg on Sacred Values

This newsletter presents findings from anthropologist Scott Atran on how sacred values—abstract ideals like religion, nationalism, or political systems—drive political violence, warfare, genocide, and terrorism. Atran argues that humans are willing to kill and die not for biological survival, but to defend and prove the supremacy of their society's sacred ideals, making such violence a form of spirituality rather than psychopathology. The authors contend that this dynamic is universal across civilizations and that the willingness to sacrifice oneself and others serves as proof of the sacred ideal's power.

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