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It is certainly the case that morality governs the interactions that take place between individuals. But what if morality exists because of these interactions? This book, first published in 2007, argues for the claim that much of the behaviour we view as 'moral' exists because acting in that way benefits each of us to the greatest extent possible, given the socially structured nature of society. Drawing upon aspects of evolutionary game theory, the theory of bounded rationality, and computational models of social networks, it shows both how moral behaviour can emerge in socially structured environments, and how it can persist even when it is not typically viewed as 'rational' from a traditional economic perspective. This book also provides a theory of how moral principles and the moral sentiments play an indispensable role in effective choice, acting as 'fast and frugal heuristics' in social decision contexts.

Ethics, Evolutionary. --- Moral development. --- Ethics, Naturalistic --- Evolutionary ethics --- Naturalistic ethics --- Ethics --- Ethical relativism --- Ethical development --- Child psychology --- Moral education --- Faith development --- Arts and Humanities --- Philosophy

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This book illuminates and sharpens moral theory, by analyzing the evolutionary dynamics of interpersonal relations in a variety of games. We discover that successful players in evolutionary games operate as if following this piece of normative advice: Don't do unto others without their consent. From this advice, some significant implications for moral theory follow. First, we cannot view morality as a categorical imperative. Secondly, we cannot hope to offer rational justification for adopting moral advice. This is where Glaucon and Adeimantus went astray: they wanted a proof of the benefits of morality in every single case. That is not possible. Moral constraint is a bad bet taken in and of itself. But there is some good news: moral constraint is a good bet when examined statistically.

ethiek --- Europees recht --- filosofie --- speltheorie --- General ethics --- Operational research. Game theory --- Evolution. Phylogeny --- Philosophy --- Contractarianism (Ethics) --- Ethics --- Ethics, Evolutionary --- Ethics, Naturalistic --- Evolutionary ethics --- Naturalistic ethics --- Ethical relativism --- Deontology --- Ethics, Primitive --- Ethology --- Moral philosophy --- Morality --- Morals --- Philosophy, Moral --- Science, Moral --- Values --- Contractarian theory (Ethics) --- Contractarianism, Moral --- Moral contractarianism