The Science of Good & Evil by Michael Shermer

The Science of Good & Evil by Michael Shermer

From bestselling author Michael Shermer, an investigation of the evolution of morality that is a paragon of popularized science and philosophy The Sun (Baltimore)

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 very nature of humanity.

In The Science of Good and Evil, 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 implications of scientific findings for fate and free will, the existence of pure good and pure evil, and 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 Yanamam , infamously known as the fierce people of the tropical rain forest, to the Stanford studies on jailers' behavior in prisons. The Science of Good and Evil is ultimately a profound look at the moral animal, belief, and the scientific pursuit of truth.

DENNIS McFARLAND is the author of six previous novels: Letter from Point Clear, Prince Edward, Singing Boy, A Face at the Window, School for the Blind, and The Music Room. His short fiction has appeared in The American Scholar, The New Yorker, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and Best American Short Stories, among other publications. He has received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Wallace E. Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University, where he has also taught creative writing. Nostalgia was awarded the Michael Shaara Prize for Excellence in Civil War Fiction. McFarland lives in rural Vermont with his wife, the writer and poet Michelle Blake.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780805075205
ISBN 10	0805075208
Title	The Science of Good & Evil
Author	Michael Shermer
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Times Books
Year published	2004-02-02
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.