A Natural History of Human Morality

Michael Tomasello

Published by Harvard University Press 2016

A Natural History of Human Morality

Michael Tomasello

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674915855

Overview
Contents

About this book

Michael Tomasello offers the most detailed account to date of the evolution of human moral psychology. Based on experimental data comparing great apes and human children, he reconstructs two key evolutionary steps whereby early humans gradually became an ultra-cooperative and, eventually, a moral species capable of acting as a plural agent “we”.

Reviews

This is an extremely worthwhile addition to the literature on the evolution of morality. It is well written and strikes an excellent balance between easy accessibility and nuanced and novel ideas. This book will appeal to students and researchers from a range of disciplines.
-- Richard Joyce, author of The Evolution of Morality

This is an important synthesis of the ideas Tomasello has been developing over a number of years, extended with an offer of a philosophically relevant genealogy of morality. Readers will learn much from this informed review of the extensive literature on the evolution of morality—a substantial part of which consists of the major contributions Tomasello and his colleagues have made.
-- Philip Kitcher, author of The Ethical Project

If you’re after a definitive guide to explain how humans became an ultra-cooperative and, eventually, moral species, this must be it. Evolutionary anthropologist Michael Tomasello has followed his last book, A Natural History of Human Thinking, with another hard hitter.
-- New Scientist

Tomasello is convincing, above all, because he has run many of the relevant studies (on chimps, bonobos and children) himself. He concludes by emphasizing the powerful influence of broad cultural groups on modern humans…Tomasello also makes an endearing guide, appearing happily amazed that morality exists at all.
-- Michael Bond New Scientist

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1 The Interdependence Hypothesis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 Evolution of Cooperation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
3 Second-Personal Morality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
4. “Objective” Morality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
5 Human Morality as Cooperation-Plus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 180
Illustrations
- Other: 6 line illustrations

eBook

Published: January 4, 2016
ISBN: 9780674915855