Description
Book SynopsisContemporary law and public policy often treat human beings as selfish creatures who respond only to punishments and rewards. Drawing from social psychology, behavioral economics, and evolutionary biology, this title demonstrates how social cues have a powerful role in triggering unselfish behavior.
Trade Review"Cultivating Conscience is a blistering attack on the 'law and economics' school, which has had an enormous impact in the US legal academy... But despite that focus, Cultivating Conscience is not only for a US readership: its clear and highly readable style, enlivened by real-life examples, also makes it accessible and of great interest on this side of the Atlantic... Cultivating Conscience is lucid and stimulating."--Bill Bowring, Times Higher Education "[D]uality in human nature, and the connection between conscience and public policy, is masterfully examined in this book by Lynn A. Stout... Cultivating Conscience is a forceful and rational proposition for reasonable change."--John Michael Senger, ForeWord Reviews "Stout makes the compelling case that conscience is neither a rare nor quirky phenomenon, but a vital force woven into our daily lives... This book proves that if we care about effective laws and civilized society, the powers of conscience are simply too important for us to ignore."--Marshal Zeringue, Campaign for the American Reader blog "Cultivating Conscience is one of those rare books--essentially a single-theme book, an apologia for the author's subject matter--that eruditely comingles several fields of knowledge, is clearly and succinctly written, holds the reader's full attention throughout, and whose contents affect the reader's thoughts at unsuspecting times and on various topics long after reading is complete. In short, it is well worth reading by both laypersons and professionals."--Cynthia C. Siebel, PsycCRITIQUES
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements vii PART ONE Chapter 1: Franco's Choice 3 Chapter 2: Holmes' Folly 23 Chapter 3: Blind to Goodness: Why We Don't See Conscience 45 PART TWO Chapter 4: Games People Play: Unselfish Prosocial Behavior in Experimental Gaming 75 Chapter 5: The Jekyll/Hyde Syndrome: A Three-Factor Social Model of Unselfish Prosocial Behavior 94 Chapter 6: Origins 122 PART THREE Chapter 7: My Brother's Keeper: The Role of Unselfishness in Tort Law 151 Chapter 8: Picking Prosocial Partners: The Story of Relational Contract 175 Chapter 9: Crime, Punishment, and Community 200 PART FOUR Conclusion Chariots of the Sun 233 Notes 255 Works Cited 281 Index 299
