The Origin of Virtue by Matt Ridley - A 300-Word Book Review
Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation
Rating: 8.5/10
Pages: 304
Time To Finish: 1 week - 50 pages/day
Where To Purchase: Amazon
What is it about?
Matt dives into why humans act kindly, trust others, and cooperate, even when it seems against our selfish nature.
He argues that virtues like generosity and fairness are shaped by biology to help us survive in society.
Using evolutionary biology through numerous interesting examples, he shows how cooperation helps both individuals and groups.
This book includes a nice blend of science, history and human behaviour.
My favourite parts
Matt Ridley has great storytelling skills. He uses numerous examples to argue his points. I like how much he compares behaviour from ants and other animals to humans.
I also like how he gets straight to the point and doesn’t filter his findings.
In the end, it feels like he argues towards a libertarian society since he says the government’s intervention can negatively affect what human cooperation does on its own already. It’s fun to think about.
He essentially says that trust is extremely important. Trust doesn’t necessarily require government oversight. When trust fades, though, societies collapse. So, for survival, we must do what we can to maintain trust.
Who should read it?
Anyone who is curious about the concept of virtue in general will find an interest in this book. But you’ll also be interested if you enjoy learning about human behaviour and evolution.
Additional thoughts
This book made me more optimistic about human instincts. It seems that over time, we tend to do what is best for our survival. Our survival depends on group cooperation, which means we have a good chance of continuing to improve as a society.
Thanks for reading