Mrs. Darth Vader
05-09-2010, 22:23
Chapter eleven is about Dominance and submission. Who gets to be on top to be the boss of the group. Who gets to mate and spread their seed. It is always the Alpha animal who gets the spoils. Sagan starts by describing a snake fight or wrestling match which is to determine who the dominant pit viper is. The winning pit viper takes one or more sexually receptive females and will protect them so he can spread his seed. He will guard his turf ensuring that the little pit vipers will get born and flourish so to have the next generation of pit vipers.
Dominance hierarchies is the form of governments that most birds and mammals live under. Only the solitary animals do not have dominance hierarchies. Sagan then describes the pecking order and how it works. The top bird rules over all the other birds. The “A” bird picks on the “B” bird. The “B” bird picks on the “C” bird. The “C” bird picks on the “D” bird and on down the line. Also the “B” bird gets to rule over “C” and downward. The “C” bird gets to rule over the “D” and downward.
Usually it is the male that enjoys the dominance hierarchy. Usually the males do the ruling. But there are some species that the females are the dominance hierarchy figures. In dominance hierarchy structure “governments” promotion comes from combat with in the group. The dominance hierarchy parallels the corporate hierarchies. It is closer to the way business are run. You compete for promotion by elbowing your competitor aside getting his nice big office and the higher pay that goes with it.
You have three choices as an animal in a dominance hierarchy, you can fight, take flight, or submit. Most of the underling males choose submit. They suck up to the top or alpha animal by bowing and scraping. In the animal kingdom a well- defined dominance hierarchy minimizes violence. Violence does occur when the rank order is uncertain or in a state of flux. When everyone knows their place all is peaceful. When a stranger comes the alphas lead the attack and mount on the enemy. The submissives never mount but attack from the sides. This is when all work together regardless of rank. This was a description of how rats function in their dominance hierarchies. In all animal dominance hierarchies the alphas always lead the charge. Only in insects and human societies does the lower ranks of the dominance hierarchy do the fighting. Insects and humans have their alphas hang in the back round and not do the fighting. To rule in the animal kingdom you earn it with your bravery and strength. The alphas in human and insect colonies get the luxury of ruling while being cowards.
In large populations the rank is not linier or directly top down. Ranks are more complicated, more like feudal clicks. Here there are more stresses and anxieties in these dominance hierarchies. Safety is not as guaranteed. You are constantly fighting for position. These are the least successful forms of dominance hierarchies. In nature. Surprisingly the most successful dominance hierarchies are the ones that have just one alpha male or only a few at the top. Just these few or the one, rules the entire group. This form of dominance hierarchy is the most successful because hardly any aggression occurs in the rest of the group. These societies are most stable and peaceful. Everyone feels safe in this group. They are most unified and act as one when the group needs to be defended against an outside invasion.
Sagan then explains why even as a higher ranking male in a dominance hierarchy you need to be able to both dominate and submit. Both skills are needed. Sagan then sighted an experiment done with hamsters to see if females would pick the dominant males or another male in the group. This experiment was done in a way that the hamsters were separated by partitions. Then the female was let loose to find the male of choice. This was done with many different females from the same group. Every time the females were loosed they choose the dominant male. Some how the females knew who was the dominant male. Sagan then asks; how did these females know how to pick the dominant male? It ended up being that dominant males give off a smell that submissive males do not. Humans attract to power just as much. Sagan then sights a human example. Here he uses Henry Kissinger because he is considered not handsome. A pretty actress attracted to Henry Kissinger because of his powerful position.
Sagan then returns to the Norway Rats and showed that they have a functioning dominance hierarchy under normal conditions. These rats only went berserk when they were trapped in an enclosed space with over population. A re-occurring theme is the fact that over population leads to mass holocausts in the animal kingdom. As an atheist Sagan like many scientists believe that animal behaviors can in many cases reflect human behavior under the same conditions. So shouldn’t we humans wonder when the mass killing will start in our world? Sagan ends by stating that humans lean dominance hierarchy and still seek it out. Here democracy is only skin deep. Our surface political structure is democratic but take a closer look and you will see those that dominate and those that bow and scrape or submit.
Dominance hierarchies is the form of governments that most birds and mammals live under. Only the solitary animals do not have dominance hierarchies. Sagan then describes the pecking order and how it works. The top bird rules over all the other birds. The “A” bird picks on the “B” bird. The “B” bird picks on the “C” bird. The “C” bird picks on the “D” bird and on down the line. Also the “B” bird gets to rule over “C” and downward. The “C” bird gets to rule over the “D” and downward.
Usually it is the male that enjoys the dominance hierarchy. Usually the males do the ruling. But there are some species that the females are the dominance hierarchy figures. In dominance hierarchy structure “governments” promotion comes from combat with in the group. The dominance hierarchy parallels the corporate hierarchies. It is closer to the way business are run. You compete for promotion by elbowing your competitor aside getting his nice big office and the higher pay that goes with it.
You have three choices as an animal in a dominance hierarchy, you can fight, take flight, or submit. Most of the underling males choose submit. They suck up to the top or alpha animal by bowing and scraping. In the animal kingdom a well- defined dominance hierarchy minimizes violence. Violence does occur when the rank order is uncertain or in a state of flux. When everyone knows their place all is peaceful. When a stranger comes the alphas lead the attack and mount on the enemy. The submissives never mount but attack from the sides. This is when all work together regardless of rank. This was a description of how rats function in their dominance hierarchies. In all animal dominance hierarchies the alphas always lead the charge. Only in insects and human societies does the lower ranks of the dominance hierarchy do the fighting. Insects and humans have their alphas hang in the back round and not do the fighting. To rule in the animal kingdom you earn it with your bravery and strength. The alphas in human and insect colonies get the luxury of ruling while being cowards.
In large populations the rank is not linier or directly top down. Ranks are more complicated, more like feudal clicks. Here there are more stresses and anxieties in these dominance hierarchies. Safety is not as guaranteed. You are constantly fighting for position. These are the least successful forms of dominance hierarchies. In nature. Surprisingly the most successful dominance hierarchies are the ones that have just one alpha male or only a few at the top. Just these few or the one, rules the entire group. This form of dominance hierarchy is the most successful because hardly any aggression occurs in the rest of the group. These societies are most stable and peaceful. Everyone feels safe in this group. They are most unified and act as one when the group needs to be defended against an outside invasion.
Sagan then explains why even as a higher ranking male in a dominance hierarchy you need to be able to both dominate and submit. Both skills are needed. Sagan then sighted an experiment done with hamsters to see if females would pick the dominant males or another male in the group. This experiment was done in a way that the hamsters were separated by partitions. Then the female was let loose to find the male of choice. This was done with many different females from the same group. Every time the females were loosed they choose the dominant male. Some how the females knew who was the dominant male. Sagan then asks; how did these females know how to pick the dominant male? It ended up being that dominant males give off a smell that submissive males do not. Humans attract to power just as much. Sagan then sights a human example. Here he uses Henry Kissinger because he is considered not handsome. A pretty actress attracted to Henry Kissinger because of his powerful position.
Sagan then returns to the Norway Rats and showed that they have a functioning dominance hierarchy under normal conditions. These rats only went berserk when they were trapped in an enclosed space with over population. A re-occurring theme is the fact that over population leads to mass holocausts in the animal kingdom. As an atheist Sagan like many scientists believe that animal behaviors can in many cases reflect human behavior under the same conditions. So shouldn’t we humans wonder when the mass killing will start in our world? Sagan ends by stating that humans lean dominance hierarchy and still seek it out. Here democracy is only skin deep. Our surface political structure is democratic but take a closer look and you will see those that dominate and those that bow and scrape or submit.