#11950
Mentioned in 4 episodes
Just Babies
The Origin of Good and Evil
Book • 2013
In 'Just Babies', Paul Bloom challenges the traditional view that humans are born as blank moral slates.
He argues that humans are innately equipped with a sense of morality, citing groundbreaking research at Yale that demonstrates babies as young as a few months old can judge the goodness and badness of others' actions, feel empathy and compassion, and exhibit a rudimentary sense of justice.
Bloom explores how this innate morality is limited by natural hostility to strangers, parochialism, and bigotry, and how reason, imagination, and compassion enable us to transcend these primitive moral instincts.
The book delves into various aspects of morality, including the morality of chimpanzees, psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and discusses moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race.
He argues that humans are innately equipped with a sense of morality, citing groundbreaking research at Yale that demonstrates babies as young as a few months old can judge the goodness and badness of others' actions, feel empathy and compassion, and exhibit a rudimentary sense of justice.
Bloom explores how this innate morality is limited by natural hostility to strangers, parochialism, and bigotry, and how reason, imagination, and compassion enable us to transcend these primitive moral instincts.
The book delves into various aspects of morality, including the morality of chimpanzees, psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and discusses moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race.
Mentioned by
Mentioned in 4 episodes
Mentioned by 
Ryan Holiday as one of his favorite books, exploring the question of whether our sense of justice is innate or learned.
Ryan Holiday as one of his favorite books, exploring the question of whether our sense of justice is innate or learned.
Paul Bloom on Why We Need Heroes
Mentioned by Ryan Holiday when discussing how early on kids develop a sense of fairness and justice.
Ryan Holiday when discussing how early on kids develop a sense of fairness and justice.
Daily Dad On Raising Kids During the Pandemic
Mentioned by Josh Neal in his discussion of psychologists who have shaped our understanding of social life.
Episode 546: Josh Neal on Intolerant Interpretations
Mentioned by Chris Kavner as a popular science book about the concept of early social evaluation in infants.
Decoding Academia 32: Do Babies REALLY like good guys?
