In an age often characterized by moral ambiguity and cultural clashes, understanding the foundations of “good” and “evil” feels more pressing than ever. Hanno Sauer’s work, “The Invention of Good and Evil: A World History of Morality” is a journey through five million years of human history, arguing that morality is not a static divine decree or an abstract concept, but a dynamic and ever-evolving invention – a crucial tool forged in the crucible of human survival and cooperation.
Sauer, isa a philosopher and masterfully blends insights from evolutionary biology, anthropology, history, and sociology to construct a compelling narrative. His central thesis is that morality is a product of our biological and cultural evolution, a necessary adaptation that allowed our ancestors to transcend the limitations of small, kin-based groups and build the complex societies we inhabit today.
The Deep Roots of Right and Wrong: Morality as an Evolutionary Advantage
The book begins with our primate ancestors. Sauer argues that the seeds of morality were sown when our evolutionary path necessitated greater cooperation. Moving from dense forests to open savannas, early hominins faced new pressures that favored group cohesion. Sauer introduces concepts like “altruistic punishment”—the seemingly counterintuitive act of punishing a free-rider or wrongdoer even when it comes to a personal cost. This unique human behavior, he contends, was pivotal. It fostered trust and enforced norms within expanding groups, paving the way for larger, more effective collective action – from hunting megafauna to defending against predators.
It highlights a key insight: morality isn’t just about being “nice”; it’s about being effective. It’s a social technology that allows for complex cooperation, which in turn fuels survival and reproductive success.
From Egalitarian Bands to the Dawn of Inequality
As human culture became cumulative – allowing knowledge, tools, and social norms to be passed down and built upon across generations – so too did moral systems become more sophisticated. Sauer charts the transition from relatively egalitarian hunter-gatherer bands to the radical inequalities that emerged with the agricultural revolution and the birth of early civilizations.
With the rise of settled communities, surplus resources, and hierarchical structures, the very definition of good and evil began to shift. Laws, social classes, and, significantly, the concept of “moralizing gods” emerged. These divine arbiters often served to legitimize power structures, enforce obedience, and provide a supernatural framework for maintaining social order. Sauer demonstrates how these developments intertwined morality with power, often justifying the privileges of the few and the subjugation of the many.
The “WEIRD” World and the Expanding Circle
“The Invention of Good and Evil” explores the origins of what social scientists call “WEIRD” morality – Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. Sauer unpacks how the Catholic Church’s unique emphasis on monogamous marriage and inheritance, for instance, had profound, long-term effects on kinship structures and individualism in the West. This, coupled with the eventual process of secularization and the Enlightenment, gradually led to a shift towards a more individualistic moral landscape, where personal autonomy and universal human rights gained prominence.
Sauer acknowledges the inherent tensions and complexities. He argues that despite the particularities of “WEIRD” morality, there’s also an undeniable trend: the “expanding circle of morality.” As humanity has progressed, our moral consideration has gradually extended beyond immediate kin and tribe to encompass broader groups, eventually reaching towards universal human rights and a growing empathy for those outside our immediate circles.
Navigating the Modern Moral Maze: Crisis or Evolution?
In the contemporary world, marked by rapid globalization, digital interconnectedness, and intense ideological divides, many observers lament a crisis of universal values. “Culture wars” seem to dominate headlines, and the very notion of shared good and evil appears to crumble. Sauer confronts this head-on. While acknowledging the fragmentation and challenges, he remains remarkably optimistic.
He contends that beneath the surface disagreements, fundamental universal values – such as fairness, empathy, and a desire for cooperation – still bind us. Our long history of “hyper-sociality,” our innate drive to form and maintain social bonds, continues to shape our moral compass. The current perceived crisis, he suggests, might be less about the erosion of morality itself and more about the growing pains of a species grappling with unprecedented complexity and interconnectedness.
Sauer concludes with a hopeful vision. By understanding the deep evolutionary and historical roots of our moral systems, we are better equipped to navigate the future. The historical trend, he argues, is towards decreasing violence and an expanding capacity for empathy. “The Invention of Good and Evil” is ultimately a testament to humanity’s remarkable capacity for adaptation, not least in our ongoing quest to define and refine what it means to be good.