AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion

News & Events: Public Lecture

Wild Justice and Fair Play: Animal origins of social morality
16 October 2003

 

Dr. Bekoff will argue that we can learn much about "wild justice" and the evolutionary origins of social morality by studying social play behavior in group-living animals through interdisciplinary research. Among the questions that Dr. Bekoff will address are: What are the evolutionary roots of cooperation, fairness, trust, forgiveness, and morality? How do animals negotiate agreements to cooperate, to forgive, to behave fairly, to develop trust? Why did play behavior evolve? What is the taxonomic distribution of cognitive skills and emotional capacities necessary for individuals to be able to behave fairly, to empathize, to behave morally? Dr. Bekoff will conclude that there is strong selection for cooperative fair play in which individuals establish and maintain a social contract. Further, in studying the role of play behavior in the evolution of social morality, it is important to study a wide range of animal behaviors and to avoid "primatocentrism.”

Keynote speaker:

• Marc Bekoff, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado

Respondent

• Nancy Howell, PhD , Associate Professor, St. Paul School of Theology

Coverage:

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