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Greater Good Science Center

Keltner, Marsh & Smith, eds., The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness W.W. Norton, 2010

Survival of the fittest, or survival of the kindest? Where does the human capacity for goodness come from? And are human emotions social constructions, or are they wired into our nervous systems? In Born to Be Good, Dacher Keltner writes about the nature and evolutionary origins of kindness, compassion, awe, and other emotions. He also highlights Darwin's emphasis on human sympathy.

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Jonathan Marks, Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge UC Press, 2009

Do genes determine race? Are some races innately more intelligent than others? And what about Charles Darwin -- is his name safe from those who would push a racist or misogynist agenda? Jonathan Marks points out political leanings and racial ideas still at play in some scientific disciplines, including genetics.

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Adrian Desmond & James Moore, Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009

Is it correct to say that Charles Darwin was a scientist par excellence, and that his theories were rooted solely in empirical study? Or might there have been another side to Darwin, a moral passion that spurred his research on evolution? James Moore contends that Darwin's obsession with human origins was fueled by his contempt for slavery.