Moral Origins
Book description
From the age of Darwin to the present day, biologists have been grappling with the origins of our moral sense. Why, if the human instinct to survive and reproduce is"selfish," do people engage in self-sacrifice, and even develop ideas like virtue and shame to justify that altruism? Many theories have…
Why read it?
1 author picked Moral Origins as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
For almost four centuries, many philosophers, politicians, and social scientists have considered Thomas Hobbes as having provided great insight into human nature with his “thought experiment” imagining the state of nature as a state of war. After more than one century, Darwin’s contrary insight in The Descent of Man (1877:125) is finally being given the attention it deserves: the “social instinct” is a more powerful influence on human behavior than “the base principal of selfishness.” In Moral Origins, one of the best books in this genre, cultural anthropologist Christopher Boehm argues that higher levels of group support increased the survival…
From Russell's list on social evolution, social neuroscience, and social connection.
Want books like Moral Origins?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Moral Origins.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,173
readers submitted
so far, will you?
