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Is Human Morality a Product of Evolution? - The Atlantic

Is Human Morality a Product of Evolution?

A new book explores the link between social collaboration and behavior that
makes our species unique.

China Photos / Reuters

EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH

DEC 2, 2015

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HEALTH

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Nearly150yearsago,CharlesDarwinproposedthatmoralitywasabyproductof
evolution,ahumantraitthataroseasnaturalselectionshapedmanintoahighly
socialspeciesandthecapacityformorality,heargued,layinsmall,subtle
dierencesbetweenusandourclosestanimalrelatives.Thedierenceinmind
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betweenmanandthehigheranimals,greatasitis,certainlyisoneofdegreeand
notofkind,hewroteinhis1871bookTheDescentofMan.
Forthelast30years,thepsychologistMichaelTomasellohasbeenstudyingthose
dierencesofdegree,tryingtodeterminehowourspeciessocialnaturegaveriseto
morality.Theco-directoroftheMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionary
AnthropologyinLeipzig,Germany,Tomasellohasspentmuchofhiscareer
conductingexperimentsthatcomparethesocialandcognitiveabilitiesof
chimpanzees,ourclosestrelativeintheanimalkingdom,andhumantoddlers.In
hisforthcomingbookANaturalHistoryofHumanMorality,hedrawsondecades
worthofworktoarguefortheideathathumansmorality,uniqueintheanimal
kingdom,isaconsequenceofourtendencytocollaborateandcooperateinways
thatothergreatapesdonot.
Beginningintheearly20thcentury,researchonnon-humanprimateslike
chimpanzees,bonobos,andorangutanshasshownthattheyarecapableofmany
thingsonceconsidereduniquelyhuman,liketool-making,empathy,discerningthe
intentionsandgoalsofothers,andformingfriendships.Buthumansalsohave
language,laws,institutions,andculture.Foralongtime,thedominantexplanation
fortheseuniquelyhumanconceptswasourrawintelligencethehumanbrainis
threetimeslargerthanthechimpanzeebrainbutinrecentyears,somescientists
havealsoarguedthatourmoresocialnaturemaybewhatsallowedustoadvance
somuchfurtherthantheapes.
ButasTomaselloarguesinhisbook,thissocialintelligencehypothesisis
somethingofanunderstatement.Asocialnatureisntenoughtofullydistinguish
betweenhumansandchimpanzeesmalechimpanzeescanformpoliticalalliances,
forexample,andsometimesworktogethertohunt,bothofwhichrequireadvanced
socialskills.Humansarenotjustsociallyintelligent,then;asTomaselloandothers
haveputit,wereultra-socialinwaysthatthegreatapesarenot,withan
enhancedcapacityforcooperationthatarosesomewherealongourspecies
evolutionarypath.

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It is inconceivable that you would ever see two

chimpanzees carrying a log together.
Tomasellohasconducteddozensofstudiestosupportthisidea.Inonestudy
publishedin2007,heandhiscolleaguesgave105humantoddlers,106
chimpanzees,and32orangutansabatteryoftestsassessingtheircognitiveabilities
intwodomains:physicalandsocial.Theresearchersfoundthatthechildrenand
theapesperformedidenticallyonthephysicaltasks,likeusingasticktoretrieve
foodthatwasoutofreachorrecallingwhichcuphadfoodinit.Butwiththesocial
testslikelearninghowtosolveaproblembyimitatinganotherperson,or
followinganexperimentersgazetondatreatthetoddlersperformedabout
twiceaswellastheapes.
Relatedtothisenhancedsocialabilityisagreatertendencytoworktogether,even
ontaskswherecollaborationisntnecessary.Ina2011studybyTomaselloandhis
PlanckInstitutecolleagues,3-year-oldchildrenandchimpanzeesweregivenan
opportunitytoobtainarewardeitherontheirownorbycollaboratingwithanother
memberoftheirspecies.Theexperimentwassetupsothatthechildrenandthe
apesknewa)thattheywouldgettherewardregardlessofwhethertheyworkedwith
apartner,andb)thatworkingwithapartnerwouldmeanbothofthemgotthesame
reward.Children,theresearchersfound,weremuchmorelikelytocollaboratethan
chimpanzees.
Therearemanytheoriesforwhyhumansbecameultra-social.Tomasello
subscribestotheideathatitsatleastpartlyaconsequenceofthewayearlyhumans
fedthemselves.Afterhumansandchimpanzeesdivergedfromtheircommon
ancestoraround6millionyearsago,thetwospeciesadoptedverydierent
strategiesforobtainingfood:Chimpanzees,whoeatmostlyfruit,gatherandeatthe
majorityoftheirfoodalone;humans,bycontrast,becamecollaborativeforagers.
Thefossilrecordshowsthatasearlyas400,000yearsago,theywereworking
togethertohuntlargegame,apracticethatsomeresearchersbelievemayhave
arisenoutofnecessitywhenfruitsandvegetableswerescarce,earlyhumans
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couldcontinuethedicultworkofforagingandhuntingsmallgameontheirown,
ortheycouldbandtogethertotakehomethehigherrewardofananimalwithmore
meat.
Chimpsshownosignsofthisability.Itisinconceivable,Tomasellohassaid,
thatyouwouldeverseetwochimpanzeescarryingalogtogether.Inoneofthe
earlieststudiesofchimpanzeecooperation,publishedin1937,chimpanzeesonly
workedtogethertopullinaboardwithfoodonitaftertheydbeenextensively
trainedbyanexperimentertheyshowednonaturalabilitytodoitontheirown.
(Evenwhenchimpanzeesdocollaborate,theresbeennoevidencetodatethatthey
havetheabilitytoadoptcomplementaryrolesingroupeortsorestablisha
complexdivisionoflabor.)
RELATED STORY
Healing a Wounded Sense of Morality

Butcollaborationdidntjustchangethewayearlyhumansprocuredfood,
Tomaselloargues;italsochangedhowhumansunderstoodthemselvesinrelation
toothers.Specically,peoplecametothinkofthemselvesaspartofalargerunit
whosemembersworkedtogetherformutualgain.Theybegan,inotherwords,to
havewhatTomasellocallssharedintentionality.This,hesays,isthesubtle
cognitivecapacitythatdierenceofdegreeDarwinwroteaboutthatsets
humansapartfromthegreatapes,thereasonwhywehavedevelopedcultural
institutionsandengageinlarge-scalecollaborativeactivities.Sharingintentions
meansthattwomindsarepayingattentiontothesamethingandworkingtoward
thesamegoal,buteachwithitsownperspectiveonthatsharedreality.
Thissharedintentionality,Tomasellobelieves,isthebasisofmorality.Some
psychologistsandphilosophersbreakmoralityintotwocomponents:sympathy,or
concernforanotherindividual;andfairness,theideathateveryoneshouldgetwhat
theydeserve.Manyanimalsarecapableoftheformerachimpanzee,forexample,
willbehaveinaltruisticways,likeretrievinganout-of-reachobjectforanother
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chimpbutonlyhumans,itappears,haveasophisticatedunderstandingof
fairness.
Toillustratethispoint,Tomasellousestheexampleoftwopeopleworkingtogether
topickfruitfromatree:Therstpersonboostsupthesecondtogettothetopofthe
tree,wherehepicksfruitforthebothofthem.Theunderlyingassumptioninthis
interactionisthateachpersonwillfulllthedutiesofhisuniquerole,andthat,once
thefruithasbeencollected,itwillbedividedfairly.Ifonepersonabandonedthe
task,orgaveintotheimpulsetotakemorethanhisshare,themutualbenetof
theirpartnershipwouldbenegated.
AsimilarscenariohasplayeditselfoutinTomaselloslab:Inoneexperiment,pairs
ofchimpanzeeswerebroughtintoaroomandgiventheopportunitytowork
togethertogetsomefruit.Whenthefruitwasalreadypre-dividedintoequal
portions,bothprimatestookonlytheirshare.Butwhentheyhadtodivideitup
themselves,thedominantchimpanzeegenerallytookmostorallofit.
Whentoddlerswerefacedwithasimilartaskofcollaboratingtoobtainfoodortoys,
andthendividingupthosetoys,theygenerallysplitthemupequally.Ifthetwo
childreneachworkedseparatelyonthesametask,though,andoneobtainedmore
toysthattheother,theluckierchildgenerallydidntsharewiththeunluckierone.
Throughtheiractions,theresearchersconcluded,thechildreninthestudyseemed
tobelievethatfairnesswastheequaldivisionofspoilswhenbothpartiesworked
togethertoobtainthemthatsharingwasfaironlyinthecontextofcollaboration.
InTheDescentofMan,Darwinwrote:Ifullysubscribetothejudgmentofthose
writerswhomaintainthatofallthedierencesbetweenmanandthelower
animals,themoralsenseorconscienceisbyfarthemostimportant.Byextension,
then,ourenhancedabilitytocooperatemaybethemostsignicantdistinction
betweenusandourclosestevolutionaryrelatives.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH is a writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a columnist at The New
Criterion, an editor at the Hoover Institution, and the author of the forthcoming The Power of Meaning:
Crafting a Life that Matters.
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Crafting a Life that Matters.

Is Human Morality a Product of Evolution? - The Atlantic

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