The Fairness Instinct
Title | The Fairness Instinct PDF eBook |
Author | L. Sun |
Publisher | Prometheus Books |
Total Pages | 348 |
Release | 2013-10-15 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1616148489 |
Combining research from the social sciences, hard sciences, and the humanities, this accessible cross-disciplinary book offers fascinating insights into a key component of human nature and society. What do the Arab Spring, the Robin Hood legend, Occupy Wall Street, and the American taxpayer reaction to the $182 billion bailout of AIG have in common? All are rooted in a deeply ingrained sense of fairness. But where does this universal instinct come from? This is the driving question at the heart of L. Sun’s The Fairness Instinct. Thinkers from Aristotle to Kant, from Augustine to John Rawls, and religions from Christianity to Confucianism, have offered great insight into the nature and origins of this basic human desire for fairness. Based on the most recent scientific discoveries in behavioral genetics, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, economics, and evolution, Sun argues that the origins of the fairness instinct cannot be found exclusively in the philosophical, social, and political perspectives to which we so often turn; rather, they can be traced to something much deeper in our biological makeup. Taking as his starting point Frans De Waal’s seminal study showing that Capuchin monkeys revolt when they are shortchanged by receiving a less valuable reward than their peers receive for the same task, Sun synthesizes a wide range of research to explore the biological roots of the fairness instinct. He shows that fairness is much more than a moral value or ideological construct; fairness is in our DNA. Combining scientific rigor with accessible and reader-friendly language to relate fascinating stories of animal and human behavior, The Fairness Instinct lays out an evolutionary roadmap for how fairness emerges and thrives under natural selection and how two powerful engines—social living and social hierarchy—have fueled the evolution of this intricate and potent instinct in all of us. Probing into the motives that underlie such phenomena as envy, consumerism, anti-intellectualism, revenge, revolution, terrorism, marriage, democracy, and religion, Sun showcases the power of the fairness instinct to make our history, shape our society, and rule our social lives.
Against Fairness
Title | Against Fairness PDF eBook |
Author | Stephen T. Asma |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | 220 |
Release | 2013 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 0226029867 |
A polymath philosopher shares lighthearted examples of humanity's unspoken instinct toward favoritism to argue against zealous pursuits of fairness.
The Fair Society
Title | The Fair Society PDF eBook |
Author | Peter Corning |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | 253 |
Release | 2011-03-01 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0226116301 |
We’ve been told, again and again, that life is unfair. But what if we’re wrong simply to resign ourselves to this situation? What if we have the power—and more, the duty—to change society for the better? We do. And our very nature inclines us to do so. That’s the provocative argument Peter Corning makes in The Fair Society. Drawing on the evidence from our evolutionary history and the emergent science of human nature, Corning shows that we have an innate sense of fairness. While these impulses can easily be subverted by greed and demagoguery, they can also be harnessed for good. Corning brings together the latest findings from the behavioral and biological sciences to help us understand how to move beyond the Madoffs and Enrons in our midst in order to lay the foundation for a new social contract—a Biosocial Contract built on a deep understanding of human nature and a commitment to fairness. He then proposes a sweeping set of economic and political reforms based on three principles of fairness—equality, equity, and reciprocity—that together could transform our society and our world. At this crisis point for capitalism, Corning reveals that the proper response to bank bailouts and financial chicanery isn’t to get mad—it’s to get fair.
The Fairness Instinct
Title | The Fairness Instinct PDF eBook |
Author | Ed Wallis |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 73 |
Release | 2012 |
Genre | Climatic changes |
ISBN | 9780716306313 |
A Dictionary of Human Instincts
Title | A Dictionary of Human Instincts PDF eBook |
Author | Nils K. Oeijord |
Publisher | iUniverse |
Total Pages | 151 |
Release | 2001-08 |
Genre | Psychology |
ISBN | 0595197469 |
This dictionary is probably the first dictionary of human instincts to be published. Moreover, the Introduction of the dictionary contains the first publication of the new and important Bronston heritability coefficient. Note: A Dictionary of Human Instincts also appears as an appendix to Human Behavior: The New Synthesis by Mitch Bronston and Nils K. Oeijord.
To Be Fair
Title | To Be Fair PDF eBook |
Author | Ben Fenton |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Total Pages | 233 |
Release | 2021-03-11 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1912914255 |
'Ben's book is an elegant and essential intervention in an era of enervating culture wars. It asks and answers nothing less than the most important question of our time: how can we recover the ability to talk to one another?' - Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland What does it mean to be fair? Why do we feel unfairness so strongly? What has happened to us today that we spend more time condemning each other's views than giving each other a fair hearing? The idea of fairness is one of the most commonly-expressed concepts, yet nobody ever stops to think what it really means. We all simply take the word 'fair' for granted. In this polemical guide to fairness, Ben Fenton explains the meaning of the word, how it fits into our genetic make-up and why we need our innate sense of fair play now more than ever. Fenton explores the idea that the unconscious procedure that humans go through in deciding fairness is the vital balancing act between competition and cooperation, the two driving forces that have made us the super-species of Planet Earth. He describes the neurology, anthropology, psychology, history and future of fairness and looks at how it affects our lives through politics, law, sex, religion, race, sport, business and even war. As a reporter of thirty years' experience, Fenton brings all his skills to bear in a lively and challenging description of the profound inner meaning of a throwaway phrase and why it matters so much to every single person in the world to seek To Be Fair. PART I – WHY SHOULD WE TRY TO BE FAIR? 1. Why You Should Read This Book 2. The Principles of Fairness 3. The Neurology and Psychology of Fairness 4. Fairness in History 5. Is Fairness a Creation of the English speaking World? (Spoiler alert: No) PART II – WHAT DOES FAIRNESS LOOK LIKE IN THE MODERN WORLD? 6. Fairness in Sport (and other forms of War) 7. Fairness in Business and Economics 8. Fairness in Law and Taxation 9. Fairness in Communication and Technology 10. Fairness in Politics and Government 11. Fairness in Human Relationships 12. Is Fair Play the Answer to the Ultimate Question?
Why Gould Was Wrong
Title | Why Gould Was Wrong PDF eBook |
Author | Nils K. Oeijord |
Publisher | iUniverse |
Total Pages | 723 |
Release | 2003-11-26 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0595752039 |
Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was a leading critic of human behavioral genetics, human sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, and the modern evolutionary synthesis. Why Gould Was Wrong explains why Gould's claims were horribly wrong.