Synopses & Reviews
This stimulating and thought-provoking reader brings together articles that explore all aspects of human morality and sociality from an evolutionary and cognitive perspective. Throughout, six leading figures ask, what are the particular behaviors, social and moral practices and underlying psychological processes that make us human?
Review
"This is a diverse title which provides direct insights from leading experts in the field. There are few books with a specific focus on morality and social behaviours from an evolutionary psychology perspective and this reader fills a gap in the literature." - Dr James Stiller, Nottingham Trent University
Synopsis
Human nature is enigmatic. Are we cruel, selfish creatures or good merciful Samaritans? This book takes you on a journey into the complexities of human mind and kind, from altruism, sharing, and large-scale cooperation, to cheating, distrust, and warfare. What are the building blocks of morality and sociality?
Featuring contributions from leading researchers, such as Christophe Boesch, Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, Azar Gat, Dennis Krebs, Ara Norenzayan, and Frans B. M. de Waal, this fascinating interdisciplinary reader draws on evolutionary and comparative perspectives, and is essential reading for any students interested in the unique characteristics that define humanity and society.
About the Author
HENRIK HOGH-OLESEN is Professor in Social and Personality Psychology and Head of the Department of Psychology at Aarhus University, Denmark. He is also the Co-editor of Journal of Anthropological Psychology.
CHRISTOPHE BOESCH is Professor and Director of the Department of Primatology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany
LEDA COSMIDES is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara where she co-founded and now co-directs the UCSB Center for Evolutionary Psychology
DENNIS L. KREBS is Professor of Psychology Simon Frazer University, Vancouver
ARA NORENZAYAN is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
JOHN TOOBY, is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he co-founded and now co-directs the UCSB Center for Evolutionary Psychology
FRANS B.M DE WAAL is Professor of Psychology at Emory University, Atlanta and is Director of the Living Links, Center for the Advanced Study of Ape and Human Evolution
Table of Contents
Human Mind - Human Kind - An introduction; H.Høgh-Olesen
Born Bad? Evaluating the Case Against the Evolution of Morality; D.L.Krebs
Morality and its Relation to Primate Social Instincts; F.B.M.de Waal
Why We Believe: Religion as a Human Universal; A.Norenzayan
Evolutionary Psychology and Criminal Justice: A recalibrational Theory of Punishment and Reconciliation; M.B.Petersen, A.Sell, J.Tooby & L.Cosmides
Patterns of Chimpanzee's Intergroup Violence; C.Boesch
The Causes of War in Natural and Historical Evolution; A. Gat
Groups in mind: The Coalitionary Roots of War and Morality; J.Tooby & L.Cosmides
Homo sapiens - Homo socious: A Comparative Analysis of Human Mind and Kind; H.Høgh-Olesen