Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and ShameBasic Books, 1 may 2012 - 432 páginas 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 been put forth, some emphasizing the role of nepotism, others emphasizing the advantages of reciprocation or group selection effects. But evolutionary anthropologist Christopher Boehm finds existing explanations lacking, and in Moral Origins, he offers an elegant new theory. Tracing the development of altruism and group social control over 6 million years, Boehm argues that our moral sense is a sophisticated defense mechanism that enables individuals to survive and thrive in groups. One of the biggest risks of group living is the possibility of being punished for our misdeeds by those around us. Bullies, thieves, free-riders, and especially psychopaths -- those who make it difficult for others to go about their lives -- are the most likely to suffer this fate. Getting by requires getting along, and this social type of selection, Boehm shows, singles out altruists for survival. This selection pressure has been unique in shaping human nature, and it bred the first stirrings of conscience in the human species. Ultimately, it led to the fully developed sense of virtue and shame that we know today.A groundbreaking exploration of the evolution of human generosity and cooperation, Moral Origins offers profound insight into humanity's moral past -- and how it might shape our moral future. |
Índice
THREE Of Altruism and Free Riders | |
FOUR Knowing Our Immediate Predecessors | |
SIX A Natural Garden of Eden | |
SEVEN The Positive Side of Social Selection | |
EIGHT Learning Morals Across the Generations | |
NINE Work of the Moral Majority | |
TEN Pleistocene Ups Downs and Crashes | |
ELEVEN Testing the SelectionbyReputation Hypothesis | |
TWELVE The Evolution of Morals | |
EPILOGUE Humanitys Moral Future | |
Notes | |
References | |
Otras ediciones - Ver todo
Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame Christopher Boehm Vista previa restringida - 2012 |
Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame Christopher Boehm No hay ninguna vista previa disponible - 2012 |
Términos y frases comunes
Aché active aggressive Alexander’s alpha altruistic Ancestral Pan apes band members basically become behavior Boehm bonobos brain bullies Bushmen capital punishment carcasses Cephu Chapter cheaters chimpanzees conflict cooperation culturally modern Darwin deviant dominant effect egalitarian ethnographic evolution evolutionary conscience evolved extrafamilial generosity favor feelings females fitness Frans de Waal free riders freerider suppression gene pools genetic gossip group members group selection Hadza huntergatherers hunters hunting hypothesis important indirect reciprocity individuals instance internalization Inuit involved killed kin selection Kung large game largegame Late Pleistocene least living LPA foragers major male Mbuti meat meatsharing moral communities moral origins moralistic nations natural selection Netsilik Nisa nonkin patterns people’s political potential preadaptation predictable prehistoric problem prosocial psychopaths reciprocal altruism rules sanctioning selection by reputation selfcontrol selfish sense serious shame sharing social control social selection species tendencies theory there’s today’s traits Utku Waal