authors:
- Boehm, Christopher
content: Interesting attempt at formulating a plausible scenario for the emergence
  of morality in Homo sapiens. The starting point is the propensity in chimpanzees
  for the collective in a flock to react and take action against an overbearing and
  severely abusive alpha male. The author argues that this propensity must have been
  present in the common ancestor to humans and chimpanzee. Add to this the egalitarian
  trends that followed (or preceded?) ancient humans developing a hunting strategy
  for larger prey. Such prey could be brought down only through collaboration, and
  the meat had to be divided in reasonably equal shares, or the group would not be
  able to maintain this strategy. An important step was the development of a conscience
  and of shame, which the author hypothesizes was the evolutionary result of the group's
  aversion to alpha-male bullying and free-riding. Being thrown out of the group,
  or killed outright, because the rest of the group got fed up with them, was a risk
  that put a severe selection pressure on strong and successful individuals to rein
  in their egoistical impulses. By anticipating and internalizing the judgement of
  the group, such individuals could pass on their genes. Altruism, primarily with
  the immediate next-of-kin but also with the rest of the group, would bestow a reputational
  benefit on individuals, thus enhancing their chance of passing on their genes. This
  argument depends on reputation being communicated, so language is required. This
  text does not discuss how language evolved, so there is a bit of a chicken-and-egg
  problem here. Did language evolve for this kind of communication (gossip), or, as
  Mercier and Sperber suggest, as a means of justifying an individuals actions? Possibly
  both, but reasonable scenarios remain to be provided.
date: '2019-05-19'
edition:
  published: '2012'
  publisher: Basic Books
goodreads: '13237633'
html: '<p>Interesting attempt at formulating a plausible scenario for the emergence
  of morality in Homo sapiens. The starting point is the propensity in chimpanzees
  for the collective in a flock to react and take action against an overbearing and
  severely abusive alpha male. The author argues that this propensity must have been
  present in the common ancestor to humans and chimpanzee. Add to this the egalitarian
  trends that followed (or preceded?) ancient humans developing a hunting strategy
  for larger prey. Such prey could be brought down only through collaboration, and
  the meat had to be divided in reasonably equal shares, or the group would not be
  able to maintain this strategy. An important step was the development of a conscience
  and of shame, which the author hypothesizes was the evolutionary result of the group''s
  aversion to alpha-male bullying and free-riding. Being thrown out of the group,
  or killed outright, because the rest of the group got fed up with them, was a risk
  that put a severe selection pressure on strong and successful individuals to rein
  in their egoistical impulses. By anticipating and internalizing the judgement of
  the group, such individuals could pass on their genes. Altruism, primarily with
  the immediate next-of-kin but also with the rest of the group, would bestow a reputational
  benefit on individuals, thus enhancing their chance of passing on their genes. This
  argument depends on reputation being communicated, so language is required. This
  text does not discuss how language evolved, so there is a bit of a chicken-and-egg
  problem here. Did language evolve for this kind of communication (gossip), or, as
  Mercier and Sperber suggest, as a means of justifying an individuals actions? Possibly
  both, but reasonable scenarios remain to be provided.</p>

  '
isbn: '9780465020485'
language: en
lastmod: '2019-05-19'
path: /library/boehm-2012.html
published: '2012'
rating: 4
reference: Boehm 2012
reviewed: '2019-05-19'
subjects:
- human-evolution
- morality
- political-philosophy
- science
title: 'Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame'
type: book
year: 2012