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Morality: Empathy, social rules, evolution of human morality| old_uid | 5118 |
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| title | Morality: Empathy, social rules, evolution of human morality |
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| start_date | 2008/06/19 |
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| schedule | 17h-19h |
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| online | no |
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| summary | Homo homini lupus – “man is wolf to man” - is an old Roman proverb popularized by Thomas Hobbes. Even though it permeates large parts of law, economics, and political science, the proverb contains two major errors. First, it fails to do justice to canids, which are among the most gregarious and cooperative animals on the planet. But worse, the saying denies our own species’ thoroughly social nature.
For the past quarter century, the very same view has been promoted by an influential school of biology founded by Thomas Henry Huxley, which holds that we are born nasty and selfish. According to this school, it is only with the greatest possible effort that we can hope to become moral beings. However, Darwin saw things very differently (he believed in continuity between animals social instincts and human morality), and modern psychology and neuroscience also support a different view. Human moral decisions often stem from emotionally driven “gut” reactions, some of which we share with other animals. I will elaborate on the connection with primate behavior. Other primates may not be moral beings, but they do show signs of empathy, reciprocity, and a sense of fairness that promote a mutually satisfactory modus vivendi. I will review evidence for continuity between humans and other primates to support the view that the building blocks of morality are older than our species.
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral & Brain Sciences 25: 1-72.
de Waal, F.B.M. (2008). Putting the altruism back in altruism: The evolution of empathy. Ann. Rev. Psychol. 59:279–300 |
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| responsibles | de Waal |
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