NCJ Number
185750
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 841-864
Editor(s)
Finn-Aage Esbensen
Date Published
December 2000
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The author explores the origins of the human "sense of justice" from the perspective of evolutionary psychology, and his thesis is that the human sense of justice is a biological adaptation in the fullest sense of the word.
Abstract
The author looks at the role of reciprocal altruism and of "cheating" and cheater detection and indicates they exert pressure for the selection on moral outrage. Moral outrage leads to the desire to punish, which serves an expiatory role. Punishment can be tempered with mercy by tapping into the evolved emotions of empathy and sympathy as cultural ideas defining all human beings as intrinsically valuable. Reconciliation and reintegration, as contained in restorative justice, are also examined from this naturalistic perspective. The author considers how cultural variability can be accommodated and concludes evolutionary psychology may provide an encompassing theoretical perspective of justice. 74 references