Reality about Human Morality
Recommended Readings
The Scientific Review Panelists were asked to suggest a “basic shelf” of no more than five books that would be helpful as guidance toward an understanding of the naturalistic foundations of human morality. The following items of "best background reading" are the result of this request.
Note: If you decide to buy any of these items for your personal library (or any library!), please consider supporting the Brights movement at the same time by using our special Amazon affiliate link.
Readings Suggested by the Majority of Reviewers
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The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature |
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Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong |
Readings Recommended by More than One Panelist
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Moral Psychology (Vol. I-III) |
^ n.b. Dr. Pierce notes this as an excellent collection but very dense for the lay reader.
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Moral Tribes: |
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The Origins of Virtue: |
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Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior |
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Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals |
Some Other Mentioned Readings (one nomination each)
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The Age of Empathy: |
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The Bonobo and the Atheist: |
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Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality |
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Evolutionary Origins of Morality: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives |
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Experiments in Ethics |
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The Expanding Circle: Ethics, Evolution, and Moral Progress |
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Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil |
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The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are |
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Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved |
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The Righteous Mind: |
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The Science of Good and Evil: |
The panelists were also asked to suggest any “single article” that would provide a good introductory overview of recent work on the evolution of human morality. Three items* immediately resulted from this request.
"Morals Without God?"
By Frans de Waal in The New York Times , 17 October 2010 .“The Biological Basis of Morality”
By Edward O. Wilson in The Atlantic, April 1998."The New Science of Morality: An Edge Conference"
By various authors in The Edge, 2010.“The Moral Instinct”
By Steven Pinker in the The New York Times, 13 January 2008."The Moral Life of Babies"
By Paul Bloom in the The New York Times, 5 May 2010 ."Special report: Morality put to the test"
By various authors in New Scientist, 2010.
Recently Added Readings
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The Evolution of Morality |
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God Is Watching You: How the Fear of God Makes Us Human |
* The committee is compiling further suggestions and will post them in due time.
