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The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule Hardcover – February 2, 2004

by Michael Shermer (Author)

59 customer reviews

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In his third and final investigation into the science of belief, bestselling author Michael Shermer tackles the evolution of morality and ethics

A century and a half after Darwin first proposed an “evolutionary ethics,” science has begun to tackle the roots of morality. Just as evolutionary biologists study why we are hungry (to motivate us to eat) or why sex is enjoyable (to motivate us to procreate), they are now searching for the roots of human nature.

In The Science of Good and Evil, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores how humans evolved from social primates to moral primates, how and why morality motivates the human animal, and how the foundation of moral principles can be built upon empirical evidence. Along the way he explains the im-plications of statistics for fate and free will; fuzzy logic for the existence of pure good and pure evil; and ecology for the development of early moral sentiments among the first humans. As he closes the divide between science and morality, Shermer draws on stories from the Yanamamö, infamously known as the “fierce people” of the tropical rain forest, to the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan, to John Hinckley’s insanity defense. The Science of Good and Evil is ultimately a profound look at the moral animal, belief, and the scientific pursuit of truth.

The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule

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Product Details

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Times Books; 1st edition (February 2, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805075208
ISBN-13: 978-0805075205
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.3 x 9.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #79 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Good & Evil
- #98 in Books > Science & Math > Essays & Commentary
- #527 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Social Psychology & Interactions

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Customer Reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars

5 star		48%
4 star		20%
3 star		15%
2 star		8%
1 star		9%

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Top Customer Reviews

...But is it "science" simply because it is naturalistic?

ByKevin Currie-KnightVINE VOICEon February 8, 2004

Format: Hardcover

I'm torn between the naysayers and the wide-eyed on this one. First, I am a naturalist who believes, like Shermer, that ethics doesn't need god. Unlike Shermer, though, I don't think that this is anything close to a 'science'. Seeing people conflate 'it's a naturalistic explanation' with 'its a scientific explanation' forgets that science is a process, not an ideology. Yes, Shermer gives us a naturalistic explanation, but just like most evolutionary psych, it is simply naturalistic "puzzle filling" of what MIGHT have happened, not experimental and falsifiable conjecture that makes for science.
For his part, Shermer does a decent job (so long as we see his as that of a philosopher, not a scientist; Shermer, I think, would protest this). He presents a case for a naturalistic ethic and goes into a fair amount of detail.
Here's the problem: not only has everything here been proposed before by those more apt than Shermer (Mary Midgley, JL Mackie, Steven Pinker, William James) but the things he says here are quite common, and really in need of little defence.
Shermer's point is that moral 'rules' are naturally endowed by evolution (or so it seems) and are provisoinal - they hold for most people, in most situations; they are more like guilelines for action. Okay, I believe it (just as I believed it when the said authors wrote it). But he really doesn't follow this up with what exactly that means. What are 'most people' and what are 'most situations'? Most troublingly, does merely saying 'evolution did it' and showing that homo erectus shared food (thus enforcing altruism by pasing along their genes) really mean that the theory is 'scientific' (even though it is non-emprical albeit good conjecture?)
I am giving the book a three-star rating, though. Truth be told, I enjoyed it and think its judgments (although better defended, say, by Mackie) are sound (and easier to read than Mackie). Particularly if you are into biology and haven't really done much thinking in philosophy, this book is great! Shermer is an entertaining, and widely learned writer (even though I disagree with some details about, say, group selections power to explain).
If a more detailed, less lay-like book is what you are looking for, I'd suggest: Mackie's "Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong", Midgley's "Beast and Man", and even Paul Ehrlich's "Human Natures".
If you've read and liked this book, read Ridley's "Origins of Virtue" and Flanagan's "Problem of the Soul".

55 comments 238 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

The Golden Rule is a Human construct.

ByDr W. Sumner Davison January 24, 2004

Format: Hardcover

In my own studies I have often come across those who believe, for there exists no other term, that religion and a belief in some supreme being are the root, the very foundation of moral behavior. As a student of evolutionary psychology, Ecclesiastical History and later of Divinity, I feel
certain I can address this concept. It is, as history has proven time and again, simply incorrect. A better understanding of the Golden Rule as it has come to be known can be seen in Shermers latest book, as in the white papers of John Nash (especially Bargaining, Zero Sum Games and Economics), in the work of Charles Darwin, (most specifically his later ideas on an evolutionary ethics); the writings of Edward O. Wilson, (especially The Ants), and finaly with even a meager
observation of nature itself. We do bargain, we do make social deals. This is observable in Chimpanzee groups, and so far as I know, they have no religion as we might recognize it. That we have to make golden rules, not out of a religious ideal but for the survival of our species seems obvious to anyone. Shermers time line indicates that morality and a social ethic were in development some 100,000 years ago. This seems about right, as ample social anthropological evidence indicates a turn toward large group hunting, and social coopertation far before this period. That some form of norm is required for an understanding of allowable and un-allowable actions within the group seems at most apparent from simian studies. This seems to me common sense, despite some reviewers inability to follow it. That a divine figure is necessary to explain morality, especially a very human-like human deity, seems to me silly at best. In the fine tradition of Darwin, Wallace, Dawkins and Sagan, Shermer points out that, which once read, seems obvious. Shermer, in the fashion of Carl Sagan, uses plain and simple concepts to explain the formation of a morality, not as a divine order, but as a aid to survival and social progress. The few issues I have with this book are more semantic than substance. I cannot
scientifically, or in this case ?morally? argue with anything put forward in this excellent account the development of modern moral thinking. Clearly hunger motivates us to eat, and pair
bonding (love),besides the obvious advantage for child rearing (seen in avian species as well as many Mammalian)motivates us to cooperative hunting. That some reviewers fail to agree with this straightforward page-turner perhaps speaks more to their own beliefs than the evidence put forth in Shermers book. Sinply put, another brilliant work from a brilliant modern thinker.

0Comment 81 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Great at helping one figure out where he/she stands on many topics

I started reading three books this past week on science, religion, and ethics (to include Climbing Mount Improbable by Dawkins) and this is the only one I finished.

Published 2 months ago by Ben Hurst

Dad thinks it's good

I bought this as a gift for my father, he like it a lot and he's a pretty intelligent guy so that's good enough for me

Published 2 months ago by C. J. Wynne

Five Stars

Not finished reading it yet

Published 3 months ago by Pierre Crease

Fabulous!!

Wonderful reading. Thought-provoking. I have underlined passages on every page!

Published 5 months ago by River Dawn

One Star

Not the cover I ordered also poor quality

Published 5 months ago by Alison S.

good

Great book and exactly what I needed for English.

Published 1 year ago by James

... as assigned reading for a college class and have enjoyed it so much that I'm reading his other books ...

I bought this as assigned reading for a college class and have enjoyed it so much that I'm reading his other books in my free time!

Published 1 year ago by Amazon Customer

Religion and Politics Both Create Fake Ideas of Good and Evil

Ethics doesn't need god. More importantly, as Shermer shows, Science and Reason have nothing to offer in the area of Ethics.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Marvelous Mal

Five Stars

helped me to get an A

Published 1 year ago by Andrea E. Gingrich

Five Stars

Exactly as promised! Thank you.

Published 1 year ago by The Simms Family

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The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule Hardcover – February 2, 2004

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