A review by arnizach
Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil by Paul Bloom

5.0

This book explores the psychology of babies and little children to see where the faculties we employ as moral beings come from. Everything from empathy and compassion, racism and homophobia, disgust and higher moral reasoning is analysed with reference to psychological research. The author highlights fascinating findings that show some of the primitive and not so primitive faculties and biases we are born with, faculties and biases that go on to play critical parts in our moral feelings and thoughts as we mature. The title can be a little misleading, since the book doesn't discuss good and evil as such. It discusses moral psychology, not moral ontology. How we feel about about and think about morality, not whether or how things are morally right or wrong. Nothing wrong with that, though. It's a fascinating book. I especially liked the final chapter and its defence of reason. Really good book!