My Review of "Just Babies"

Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at Yale University, puts forward a simple thesis in his new book, Just Babies: Morality, or its roots, appears to come so evolutionarily hardwired that mere babes can tell good from bad. According to Bloom, we humans are not born moral blank slates, proposing that "we possess an innate and universal morality".

And Bloom should know. He has conducted some of the most notable studies in the field. In a lively, accessible style, Bloom also draws on research into adults from many societies, including the extant hunter-gatherer tribes. And he tackles the moral claims of philosophy and religion, arguing that we understand how the "amoral force of natural selection" may have instilled the foundations for moral thought and action.

I found Just Babies to be one of the easiest psychology books I've ever read, and he supports his thesis convincingly.

But there's a glaring oversight: Where, then, does evil come from? That is the question I was left asking at the end of this book.

I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

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The Mrs. & the Minister

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