I know of few biologists who would be better prepared on "morality as an emergent property of social groups" than the author: he has a long experience with apes and a calmly examining mind. His lucid and engaging narrative "connects the dots" in a convincing manner. This is a book worth reading - and it is easy to do so: as gripping as a mystery novel. A special thanks to the editor, Angela von der Lippe, for helping the author produce an outstanding piece of work.
The author's thesis is quite straightforward: "The moral law is not imposed from above or derived from well-reasoned principles: rather, it arises from ingrained values that have been there since the beginning of time. The most fundamental one derives from the survival value of group life. The desire to belong, to get along, to love and be loved, prompts us to do everything in our power to stay on good terms with those on whom we depend. Other social primates share this value and rely on the same filter between emotion and action to reach a mutually agreeable modus vivendi." (pg. 228) To prove his point he takes the reader over territory that he has explored in earlier books. This is his synthesis: a guided tour of the accumulating evidence. It is a worthy continuation of Darwin's Descent of man. It is not the full story, but it marks the "end of the beginning".
It is wryly ironic that man's "poor relations", the apes, are better able to explain us to ourselves than philosophers in their overstuffed armchairs, or religious moralists. It is also highly refreshing. After WWII, we stopped viewing animals as instinctual and devoid of any behavioral interest: once we began observing them, we learned to recognize the rudiments and elements of our "moral sentiments". Our ability to record this behavior through photo and film allowed us to move beyond anecdote (often tainted by anthropomorphism) to critical observation and experiment. Results are coming in, refuting the "veneer theory" - morality as a thin veneer barely able to conceal our true nature, which is entirely selfish. Brain and cognitive sciences have also contributed: we can now plainly observe the biological basis of empathy. We are also beginning to untangle the link between biology and culture.
As we observe our cousins we become aware of the multi-layered level of empathy: it goes from emotional contagion to consolation, to targeted helping. All these levels can be found in apes. They are expressed best in humans. The transition is smooth, and it is no longer possible to argue discontinuities (aka "soul"). We already observe in some apes both one-on-one morality and "community concern" - the ability to move beyond the particular to a view of the general welfare of the group. This is evidence of "bottom-up morality".
I particularly liked the author's view: "moral laws are mere approximation, perhaps metaphors, of how we should behave" (pg. 185). In other words, morals are not imperatives; what we aim for is "good enough" behavior. The West' categorizing mindset has transformed something, which is fluid and evolving, into categories frozen in time - a Procuste's Bed operated by lawyers and philosophers. The author concludes: "morality predates religion" (pg. 219) - and philosophy, I'd add.
The final part of the book deals with "religion". Here, the author argues for its evolutionary role. He should have been more precise. What is evolutionary is the "religious sentiment" - not religion. While I'd agree with him that the former has evolutionary usefulness, the track-record of revealed religions is at par with other ideologies: plain dismal. I'm not just thinking of the hundreds of millions killed over religious strife but of the oppression that allowed extractive elites to control subaltern groups. The irenic view of religion the author presents reflects his culture and not realities on the ground. Religion has been far too close to power and hierarchies for (my) comfort. The challenge is to emancipate "religious sentiment" from "religion" - Buddhism, Dao, Shinto and Confucianism are nearer to this goal.
The author has little patience with biologists and social scientists, who argue humanity's "selfishness". He could have been more incisive. The "selfish gene" does not exist - genes have no intentionality. More to the point: together with many thousand others a gene is packed within a phenotype. Selection occurs, not on the individual gene, but the phenotype. Breeders can select for a single gene (the rarely do), but nature never does. The closest nature comes to it is in sexual selection: when nature uses one proxy (the peacock's tail) we get all sorts of aberration. Biological selection is a messy affair; a lot of traits and collaterals come along for the ride (The spandrels of St. Mark come to mind).
The author finally shares with Stephen Jay Gould a misunderstanding of why card-carrying Christian religions oppose evolution. Both scientists argue NOMA "non-overlapping magisteria". This is nonsense, and as biologists they should know better. The two magisteria do overlap - smack in the middle of the two scientists' field of work. The critical juncture is the primeval couple and original sin. Though coy on evolution, John Paul II set his foot down on the fact that God had zapped the soul into a primeval couple (monogenism), who had proceeded to make hash of things. For this Pope, the Garden of Eden is not a myth, but dogma. No original sin, no need for redemption; the Son, whose job in the Trinity is to redeem (since before all time), is out of a career. Both biology and paleo-anthropology exclude the existence of such a couple. So here we are...
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