[books 2012] Moral Origins
55. Moral Origins: The Origins of Virtue, Altruism and Shame by Christopher Boehm
I bought this after reading a review in New Scientist. As the title suggests, it presents a theory for the evolutionary biology behind the origins of morals, largely through studying the cultural anthropology of egalitarian hunter gatherer societies whose way of life is analagous to human society 45,000 years ago. And chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos.
I had to read it in small chunks, because although it's not too heavy on the science, it's not a subject I've read a lot about, so there was a lot to process. I suppose I should be glad I've read The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, although Dawkins isn't talking about the exact same stuff.
What he says largely makes a lot of sense (as opposed to a lot of evolutionary biology theories I read about in New Scientist).
It takes some effort, but is definitely recommended.
I bought this after reading a review in New Scientist. As the title suggests, it presents a theory for the evolutionary biology behind the origins of morals, largely through studying the cultural anthropology of egalitarian hunter gatherer societies whose way of life is analagous to human society 45,000 years ago. And chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos.
I had to read it in small chunks, because although it's not too heavy on the science, it's not a subject I've read a lot about, so there was a lot to process. I suppose I should be glad I've read The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, although Dawkins isn't talking about the exact same stuff.
What he says largely makes a lot of sense (as opposed to a lot of evolutionary biology theories I read about in New Scientist).
It takes some effort, but is definitely recommended.