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The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule (Holt Paperback) Paperback – January 2, 2005

by Michael Shermer (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 134 ratings
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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 Yanamamö, 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.

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  1. Part of series
    Holt Paperback
  2. Print length
    368 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    January 2, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.82 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0805077693
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0805077698
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Editorial Reviews

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"Shermer does know his enemy, and it gives him a decided advantage in writing a book such as this, which aims to demonstrate that we don't need God at all to be moral human beings, that in fact human evolution has built a tendency toward moral behavior into our brains... A seeker who has found the best answers he can find in skepticism and a purely rational approach to life."

..".for a very soundly documented and reasoned set of specifics, I know of no better single volume than this one. Give it to everyone you know whose head and heart you respect, but who is flirting with irrationality."

About the Author

Michael Shermer is the author of The Believing Brain, Why People Believe Weird Things, The Science of Good and Evil, The Mind Of The Market, Why Darwin Matters, Science Friction, How We Believe and other books on the evolution of human beliefs and behavior. He is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, the editor of Skeptic.com, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and an adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate University. He lives in Southern California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Paperbacks (January 2, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805077693
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805077698
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.82 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

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Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer

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Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the Science Salon Podcast, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. For 18 years he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, and Heavens on Earth. His new book is Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist.

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
134 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tobin B. Crenshaw
5.0 out of 5 stars You Need To Know The Prisoner Guard Experiment
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2012
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"For most people killing one human being is repulsive, killing millions can become routine."

"You do not have to give people a reason to be violent, because they already have plenty of reasons. All you have to do is take away their reasons to restrain themselves."

These are a couple of assumptions from some of the researchers Shermer uses. The premises are very interesting. Perhaps there is not no more famous example than the Prisoner/Guard experiment. Shermer does a brilliant job discussing it in light of Nazi Germany.

(You should also understand Shermer is a strict materialist, he is upfront that he believes evolution explains life and he has no belief in God or supernatural events. He does share these perspectives, so be aware some of his discussion moves into taboo areas for many people, i.e. faith. Or as he puts it, Is it possible to know if there is a God or not? To quote Shermer, "My answer is firmly negative.")

Back to the experiment, it was held at Stanford University. Everyone involved was a student. The so called guards were given sunglasses, a whistle, club and cell keys. The "prisoners" were stripped searched and given uniforms. The experiment was to last 2 weeks, it was ended on day 6. Some "prisoners" were suicidal, some "guards" were cruel and meted out punishment in overdose, using food and light deprivation. Everyone was shocked at the personality changes when students were given new, albeit false, identities. The change took only SIX DAYS.

What are we all capable of? More so, what are we capable of being influenced to do, especially by an authoritative figure or high pressure group and in light unknown consequences? You might be surprised. Shermer has some answers to consider.
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PG13
5.0 out of 5 stars Effectively questions the basis of morality.
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2006
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Like a majority of us, I was of the opinion that being religious is a necessary and required condition for being a moral person. (Mind you, I had that view even as I wasn't practicing the religious customs I was brought up to follow and -- by nothing more than my own self-admission -- living a clean and very moral existence for a decade without following any "rituals.") Not a second after I completed reading this book because it made me question that premise.

Shermer's book provided a clear, if not complete, explanation for a moral living without the crutch of being a religious follower. Even if one is a follower, the understanding that morals are not necessarily bestowed to us on a bright and sunny afternoon by a creator but evolved in us -- if you must, by the creator -- as we ourselves evolved is a point worth acknowledging.

Any reasonable person must look at the evidence as presented by Shermer, not just by itself, but as a first step, to make an informed decision on the affect of morals on us, and we, as humans, on morals. As for the creator himself, it suffices to say that Shermer is a self-professed agnostic. So, the choice would still be on our side even as we question if those morals were provided to us at an instance or inspired in us over years.
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Book Shark
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Topic, Solid Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2013
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The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule by Michael Shermer

"The Science of Good and Evil" is an interesting book on the study of morality. It's the study of why humans do what they do, particularly on the social level. Best-selling author and self-proclaimed skeptic Michael Shermer takes a scientific approach to the question of morality. The book specifically deals with the origins of morality and the foundations of ethics. A very sound book published in 2004 that holds up quite well. This solid 368 page-book is broken out into the following two parts: Part I. The Origins of Morality, and Part II. A Science of Provisional Ethics.

Positives:
1. A fascinating topic in the hands of a master of his craft.
2. A well-written, well-researched, engaging and accessible book. Excellent!
3. Great use of charts and scientific research throughout the book.
4. Shermer is a great communicator. He is a deep thinker with a knack of conveying profound ideas to laypersons. He is not afraid to share his experiences in order to give life to his theories.
5. Thought-provoking look at morality from many angles, particularly scientific ones. "This is why a scientific analysis of morality can be more fruitful than a philosophical one."
6. Shermer has earned my trust over the years. He is genuine, he takes a scientific approach but he is not afraid to tell you how he feels. "Here we cut to the heart of what is, in my opinion the single biggest obstacle to a complete acceptance of the theory of evolution, especially its application to human thought and behavior, particularly in the realm of morality and ethics: the equating of evolution with ethical nihilism and moral degeneration."
7. Shermer lays down his thesis and goes to work, "My thesis is that morality exists outside the human mind in the sense of being not just a trait of individual humans, but a human trait; that is, a human universal."
8. The why and how of morality. Shermer covers eight main ideas that encapsulates his interesting theory: moral naturalism, evolved moral sense, evolved moral society, the nature of moral nature, provisional morality, provisional right and wrong, provisional justice, and ennobling evolutionary ethics.
9. The history of the golden rule.
10. The evolution of morality. "In the last 10,000 years, these moral thoughts and behaviors were codified into moral rules and principles by religions that arose as a direct function of the shift from tribes to chiefdoms to states."
11. An interesting look at war and violence. Many great examples. "In this latter sense I claim that there is no such thing as evil. There is no supernatural force operating outside the realm of the known laws of nature and human behavior that we can call evil."
12. Free will and the problem of determinism. The fascinating history. How it relates to the law.
13. Science and theories that pertain to violence. "One of the fundamental tenets of science is that a theory should be able to explain the exceptions to its generalizations. This is a problem for the computer-game theory of violence, as it is for the other theories."
14. Absolute morality, relative morality and provisional morality. Always an interesting discussion. "There is a middle way between absolute morality and relative morality that I call provisional morality."
15. Religion and how it relates to morality. "The belief that one's faith is the only true religion too often leads to a disturbing level of intolerance, and this intolerance includes the assumption that nonbelievers cannot be as moral as believers."
16. The happiness, liberty, and moderation principles. Many case studies: adultery, pornography, abortion, cloning, and animal rights. Interesting stuff.
17. Shermer's interesting conversion to Christianity and deconversion. "...there was a slow but systematic displacement of one worldview and way of thinking by another: genesis and exodus myths by cosmology and evolution theories; faith by reason; final truths by provisional probabilities; trust by verification; authority by empiricism; and religious supernaturalism by scientific naturalism."
18. A quote fest, "Absolute morality leads logically to absolute intolerance."
19. An interesting look at Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism, a form of fixed Aristotelian philosophy.
20. The four tenets of scientific provisionalism: 1. Metaphysics: Provisional Reality. 2. Epistemology: Provisional Naturalism. 3. Ethics: Provisional Morality. 4. Politics: Provisional Libertarianism.
21. Two great appendices.
22. Notes and bibliography.

Negatives:
1. So much has happened since 2004, particularly in the field of neuroscience. The book is dated in those areas but still holds up well.
2. The scientific study of morality is in reality in its infancy, this book is a great start but there is still ways to go. In other words, it's not as science heavy as Shermer may make it out to be.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book. It holds up fairly way for a book that was published in 2004. The scientific study of morality is in its infancy and the book suffers a bit due to the limited scientific knowledge in the field of neuroscience. In other words, the book is not as strong scientifically as one would like but Shermer makes a very strong case nonetheless. Shermer is an excellent author and though this is not his best work, it's a good read and comes highly recommended!

Further suggestions: " The Believing Brain " by the same author, " SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable " by Bruce M. Hood, " Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique , " Hardwired Behavior: What Neuroscience Reveals about Morality " by Laurence Tancredi, " Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality " by Patricia S. Churchland, " The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature " by Steven Pinker and " The Brain and the Meaning of Life " by Paul Thagard.
9 people found this helpful
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Zachary
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2006
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Some reviewers claimed that this book was difficult to get through, and seemed like a text book... i disagree.

Maybe it is because I find this topic very interesting, but I had no trouble getting through this book. It was incredibly interesting and well worth the buy. I kept expecting to hit "the boring and difficult" parts, but they never came.

This is a great book if you are interested in hearing a scientific explanation for morality (that is, if "God did it" doesnt satisfy you).

I highly reccomend The Science of Good and Evil, along with How We Believe and Why People Believe Weird Things.
11 people found this helpful
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Jeff Kotowski
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well researched
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018
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He has spent a lot of time thinking about good, evil and human morals. The book is well documented with references everywhere. If you are willing to take some time to think deeply, this is the book for you.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book from Shermer
Reviewed in Germany on December 5, 2020
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I only hope they are teaching the ideas brought about in this book in schools!
It is much more important than the mythical teachings of religion.
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Vlad
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2015
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Very good product, as described! Highly recommended!
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Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2012
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It is a very interesting read if you like evolutionary biology and psychology. Science and evolution is expanded to explain morality and ethics.
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waterfall
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2016
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As described, no problems, thanks
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Richard
2.0 out of 5 stars Science really cannot explain morality or any other philosophical question...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2015
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Well what can I say? According to some of the advertising scientists are now going to explain humanity based on evolution theory.
I was trained as a scientist and have since explored psychology and philosophy and this book simply explains the universe in terms of what the author first thought of. going back in time, Descartes came up with "I think therefore I am" and is generally thought not to have been unable to construct a solid foundation on his axioms.
I find philosophy fascinating along with the subject of morality. Not to mention the advances in biochemistry and neuroscience and I much prefer the work of Patricia churchland for being on a much more solid academic basis and I recommend her books as a starting point.
However if you have gone beyond the limitations of materialism then Joseph chilton Pearce and Bruce Lipton have much more to say not to mention candace pert.
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