The Samaritan Paradox

If we live in a dog-eat-dog world, then why are we frequently so good to each other?

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(Further Reading)

  • The Economics of Fair Play. Karl Sigmund, Ernst Fehr and Martin A. Nowak in Scientific American, Vol. 286, No. 1, pages 82–87; January 2002.

  • The Nature of Human Altruism. Ernst Fehr and Urs Fischbacher in Nature, Vol. 425, pages 785–791; October 23, 2003.

  • The Science of Good and Evil. Michael Shermer. Henry Holt, 2004.

The Economics of Fair Play. Karl Sigmund, Ernst Fehr and Martin A. Nowak in Scientific American, Vol. 286, No. 1, pages 82-87; January 2002.

The Nature of Human Altruism. Ernst Fehr and Urs Fischbacher in Nature, Vol. 425, pages 785-791; October 23, 2003.

The Science of Good and Evil. Michael Shermer. Henry Holt, 2004.

More information on altruism research can be found on the Web at www.iew.unizh.ch/grp/fehr/ and at www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/ boyd/Publications.htm

SA Mind Vol 14 Issue 5This article was published with the title “The Samaritan Paradox” in SA Mind Vol. 14 No. 5 (), p. 14
doi:10.1038/scientificamericanmind1204-14

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