Just Babies - The Origins Of Good And Evil

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  • Royal Society of Biology General Book Prize Nominee for Longlist (2014)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Just Babies - The Origins Of Good And Evil

Regular price
Unit price
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ISBN: 9780307886842
Authors: Paul Bloom
Publisher: Crown
Date of Publication: 2013-11-12
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: Sociology, Science, Philosophy, Religion
Related Topics: Evolution, Psychology
Goodreads rating: 3.72
(rated by 3277 readers)

Description

From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society—and especially parents—to transform them from little sociopaths into civilized beings. In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing on groundbreaking research at Yale, Bloom demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others’ actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice.Still, this innate morality is limited, sometimes tragically. We are naturally hostile to strangers, prone to parochialism and bigotry. Bringing together insights from psychology, behavioral economics, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Bloom explores how we have come to surpass these limitations. Along the way, he examines the morality of chimpanzees, violent psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and explores our often puzzling moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race.
 

  • Royal Society of Biology General Book Prize Nominee for Longlist (2014)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.