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    Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil
    Unavailable
    Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil
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    Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil
    Audiobook6 hours

    Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil

    Written by Paul Bloom

    Narrated by Mike Chamberlain

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone.

    From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us 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 groundbreaking 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.

    Paul Bloom has a gift for bringing abstract ideas to life, moving seamlessly from Darwin, Herodotus, and Adam Smith to The Princess Bride, Hannibal Lecter, and Louis C.K. Vivid, witty, and intellectually probing, Just Babies offers a radical new perspective on our moral lives.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 12, 2013
    ISBN9780385367080
    Unavailable
    Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil
    Author

    Paul Bloom

    Paul Bloom is Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. His research explores the psychology of morality, identity, and pleasure. Bloom is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including, most recently, the million-dollar Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize. He has written for scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and for the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Atlantic Monthly. He is the author or editor of eight books, including Against Empathy, Just Babies, How Pleasure Works, Descartes’ Baby, and, most recently, The Sweet Spot.

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    Reviews for Just Babies

    3.5/5

    82 ratings20 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Well written in an accessible and engaging style, this book looks at morality from a number of perspectives: biological, philosophical and cultural. I found it very interesting and informative.
    • 5/5
      Dr. Bloom is a professor of psychology at Yale University.  He posits in his latest book that babies are born with a moral sense, although it may not manifest before four or five months, just as other physical qualities take time to develop.   He also believes that humans are born with empathy, compassion, and the wish to make suffering in others go away.  Additionally, we have a sense of fairness and justice, including the desire to see both good  behavior rewarded and bad behavior punished.  I recommend this book for both professionals and those with no background at all in psych because Bloom does an excellent job of describing the research process.  Those unfamiliar with research in infant cognition will learn precisely how it can be done in a very readable and understandable presentation.  Many people ask "How can they know that?" regarding infants, and you will be able to answer that question after reading this book.  At the same time, Bloom acknowledges that moral values can and are also learned behaviors, many of which differ across cultures.One of the more interesting sections to me was how do you measure a sense of fairness and justice.  There is extensive research and analysis presented in this section also.  How about sharing?  Does your two year old refuse to share her toys with the new kid on the block?  Would YOU give your car keys to the new adult on the block?  Bloom makes one of the best analyses I have seen.  You may or may not agree with him, but his theses are VERY well backed up with lots of research from a large variety of sources that are intriguing.Dr. Bloom also addresses how this plays out in evolution, using some of Darwin's ideas, that different groups would prevail over other groups if the first ones behaved in these moral fashions, using cooperation.  That is, if the first group was empathetic toward members and tended to cooperate for example, they would be quick to warn each other of impending danger from outsiders, thereby increasing their chance of survival over the other group.This is an excellent, interesting and very readable book, a nice update for professionals and an excellent introduction to infant development and research methods for the lay person.  I'm thinking of new moms that I know that I'd like to give it to along with [Stern]'s [[Diary of a Baby]].I also think this is important and helpful information for those interested in the  plausibility of the use of non-violence as espoused by Gandhi and others.  I find it hopeful.  This was a five star read for me.This review is from an uncorrected proof given to me by the publisher in exchange for a review.
    • 4/5
      I’ve really come to like books with a psychology background. At first I had a hard time with this book due to the fact that I just completed a very tough semester in college and my mind was not into reading another textbook-like-book. I’d written enough research papers in the last four months that I didn’t want to read about even more research studies. However, after a few days of relaxation and rejuvenation, after I had recharged my over-used brain, I began to enjoy the book like I thought I would. I have always in interested in morality and philosophy, so I had figured this book would be a high rate. Indeed it was a engaging read. It’s not too long, and not too hard to follow. I thought the first half of the book focused more on the studies about babies and the sense of bad and good. The second half of the book was the most interesting for me; detailing what is really moral or immoral and what is not, and that this changes between cultures; the real question that is brought up is why we think something is immoral. If you like to read non-fiction books that make you think, this is a good read.
    • 3/5
      Bloom takes on a huge piece of philosophy here, "the origins of good and evil," but doesn't do it justice. The experiments he recounts are pretty basic and just confirm what an intelligent person would know from experience already. His commentary on the subject, while entertaining, is sloppy. In chapter 1, he assumes that Darwinism is fact, not theory, and his errors build from there. He explains with calculations, how selfish genes can create altruistic animals, but doesn't spell out whether calculation and impulse come from the same root.He does bring up plenty to think about independently, for which I'm grateful; and points to other writers on the subject, such as Adam Smith. While he claims that arguments about terminology are boring, he doesn't shy away from being explicative, which is one of his strengths.
    • 3/5
      This book was interesting but didn't really fulfill the premise given in the description. While the author does cite many psychological studies that explore the morality of infants and very young children, the book is more about the philosophy of morality in general. It was readable though and I recommend it for the psychological insights.
    • 3/5
      Having never read Bloom before, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing by page 5. He is a very engaging, easy-to-understand author, at least for the audience this book is intended for. This was a nice intro to the subject matter and I have numerous notes to look further into topics he touched on. While I felt the contents were more skewed toward the "good" and its development in humans, leaving me feeling like I had only read Part 1 of 2, I am interested enough to look into his other works and to mention this one to my acquaintances with a penchant for psychology and philosophy. Early Reviewers.
    • 4/5
      Paul Bloom does a delightful job in compiling a starter's guide to understanding where moral thoughts, actions and beliefs originate and how they evolve. Bloom touches on the subject from all sides - psychologically, physiologically, philosophically, culturally, religiously. Highly recommended for anyone who wonders the (mostly) unconscious behavior behind the action or reaction. A great takeaway is that while morals, to some extent, exist in the earliest stages of life, you cannot expect everyone, everywhere to have the same definition of good and evil on all topics.
    • 1/5
      This is a study of human morality with a purported focus on babies and toddlers, as the title strongly suggests. I found it very disappointing, almost never featuring anything new about babies or much of anything else. I am rating it with a generous one star because of the apparant trickery of the title.
    • 4/5
      In this book, Paul Bloom provides a very good basic overview of the origins of morality. It was a quick and fun read-- he ranges in references from Shakespeare to The Princess Bride to Steven Pinker (all my favorites), and even some of the more complex ideas were easy to follow. I found the studies interesting, although I sometimes wished for more information about how the studies were conducted. I also thought this book might go into a bit more depth, but overall it was a very good general discussion on morality and provided me with some context to ask more questions and do more independent research in the future.
    • 3/5
      I am ashamed to admit that I received this as an Early Reviewer and am just now reviewing it. There are several good reviews already posted, so I'll keep it short and sweet. To summarize, the author takes on the the question of nature vs. nurture. Are babies born moral or is morality learned? The author explains the results of several studies done on both babies and adults to answer that question. You'll have to read the book to learn the author's conclusion. To be honest, I was a little disappointed that he didn't focus more time on discussing the studies on babies. But all in all, the book should be of interest to those interested in psychology and morality.
    • 4/5
      Extremely accessible overview of current empirical findings on the early appearances of distinctions that, when occurring in adults, would be called "moral." The first three chapters dealing with empathy and fairness hew most closely to this design. Later chapters paint with a broader brush than merely what we find among babies. In that sense they are less satisfying in light of the stated theme of the book, but for those looking for straightforward description of those research areas -- e.g., family, disgust, and behavioral morality -- will find them welcome inclusions.
    • 4/5
      This was a well written, well documented treatise on the origin of moral and ethical decisions for humans. Exhaustively annotated, it reads somewhat like a scientific journal paper, but it is an easy read and quite interesting and informative. Books such as this might not be fodder for everyone, but anyone interested in human decision making and the source of our compassion, or lack thereof, will enjoy the book.This was received from the publisher as an Early Reviewers copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      I won this book through the early reviewers group. Very good book, quick read. We all know that babies do have some sense of morals, like how they react when they feel they have been done wrong when a playmate takes a toy from them. In this book the author argues that babies, early on, can sense and react to others being done wrong, and showing signs sympathy by wanting to comfort someone who they feel is distressed. Prof. Bloom sites a wide range of sources, from Darwin to The Princess Bride. The good thing about the book is that it's a good mix of data and humor. I highly recommend it for your reading enjoyment.
    • 3/5
      Paul Bloom investigates the source of moral action and moral reasoning by going back to the source - very young children and babies - to answer questions like are we build with some type of moral understanding or is this type of knowledge learned? While he starts with the work one on babies, Bloom wanders pretty widely in the field of moral psychology and moral philosophy to introduce some interesting ideas, some history of thinking and Bloom's interpretation. Just Babies is a popularization of a deep subject, so it naturally touches on topics rather than explores any one in detail. But for a nonexpert, Bloom's level of detail is just about right and offers a jumping off point for further reading. The material is presented well and I liked his descriptions of the various experiments that have been done.
    • 5/5
      Morality is good. Greatly written! A profound thinker, the author is!
    • 4/5
      Very nice discussion about the origins of morality, what parts are instinctual and what parts are learned. Bloom is a great writer and this is an interesting subject.
    • 3/5
      Really 3.5 stars. Some very interesting research that has some interesting potential consequences. But that's just the first 1/2 of the book. Then there is a general discussion of the origins of morality at all age levels, which while OK, was not the premise of the book. A premise that may not really be paid off at all. At least on one level, it reads like there are some morals that are 'baked' into each of us, but offers a fairly hand-wavey explanation as to how. Except it can't be supernatural. Which is OK, but seemingly just a decision on the part of the author and not necessarily supportable. Still worth the read.
    • 4/5
      I started reading this book just after 12-year old and 14-year old children were accused of killing teachers in two separate incidents. I so much want to understand such behavior, but I still don't have all the answers I want.Although much of this book is about babies and their innate morality, it also relates to those of us who are well beyond that stage. It is written at a level easily readable by a lay person, such as I am, who is interested but not highly educated on the subject.There were experiments done on babies, but don't worry – these are not the horrid, damaging types done in generations gone by (unfortunately, not that many generations). There were some mentions of animal experiments but not enough to be upsetting to me, even though I hate reading about animal experiments, often not done humanely or with any sense of compassion.I learned some things that explain why I react to some situations and why other people may react the same or differently, and found the information on punishment especially interesting.There are things I don't like about the book. In one section, the author has discussed how a horrible act of animal cruelty once was considered hilarious entertainment. The author goes on to say, “We don't do this anymore; should the next step be to stop hunting animals, eating them, and using them for medical research? Some would say yes to all of this too, but then what about the proper treatment and protection of skin cells? Personal computers? Viruses?”Give me a freakin' break. I am one of those who wants much, much more protection for animals than they now have, and even someone like I am can understand the difference between vivisection on a dog and my personal computer. This argument was taken to such a ridiculous extreme that the author lost some credibility. Based on some of the studies, I don't necessarily agree with all the conclusions drawn by the author, but I still learned a great deal and enjoyed the book.I was given an advance reader's copy of the book for review, and the quote may have changed in the published edition.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This book is not what is promised on the cover. It begins with the fascinating research on babies done in Bloom’s lab and in other places, which shows that babies from only a few months of age have some capacity for empathy and compassion. E.g. they favor puppets who have helped others over those who have hindered. This is measured by recording who they look most at afterwards, based on the assumption that babies prefer to look at those they prefer, such as when they normally choose to look at their mother rather than a stranger, or by whom they reach for. A way to measure the responses of even smaller babies is by letting them control things through sucking intensity. Babies only three days old used this method to listen to what they preferred – their mother’s voice rather than a stranger’s. Bloom emphasizes that they often find big effects. Follow-up studies show that children to some extent are consistent in these judgments, and that when they are older they frame the issues in moral terms, suggesting that they are actually getting at something relevant. The consistency provocatively suggests that these skills are largely innate. Older children show strong favoritism – they choose to give a gift to someone of the same race or language. They also disfavor people with other accents, and interestingly, accents trumped race. Unfortunately the rest of the book does not hang well together with the start. I was constantly wondering when we were coming back to the baby research. The other material, such as utilitarianism, philosophical “trolleyology”, the influence of closeness, punishment, free-riding and various other things, is very interesting it just did not match well together with the start and the expectations induced by the book’s cover and description.
    • 5/5
      I could not put this book down. It's an excellent review of the studies done on young children to determine the inborn understanding of morality, but it reads like a mystery novel. Very tightly put together, and it doesn't take you out of the book to explain philosophical concepts or complex experiments. Anyone would be comfortable picking up this book as there's no assumption of knowledge, but even having read about all of the studies cited before, I wasn't bored. I don't want to spoil anything, but the topic is only partly babies, it expands into adult moral issues and questions which is far more interesting. A lot of familiar ground is covered (for example the trolley question) but the research gives it a new perspective. Very reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell or Dan Ariely, but much more concise. If you are still on the fence about this book, go watch Paul Bloom's TED Global talk. I apologize in advance for your book budget being blown, as he has also written several other books, and Amazon will helpfully recommend similar books you won't be able to resist.