Book: Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil

YaleNews features works recently or soon to be published by members of the University community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers. Authors of new books may forward publishers' book descriptions to us by email. Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil Paul Bloom, the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology - (Crown) From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that humans begin life as blank moral slates. Many people take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society - and especially parents - to transform them from "little sociopaths" into civilized beings. In "Just Babies," Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing on his research at Yale, Bloom demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others' actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice.'? Still, he contends, this innate morality is limited, sometimes tragically.