biology

The Origins of Virtue

The Origins of Virtue is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Origins of Virtue rather than just read about it. In short: The Origins of Virtue is a 1996 popular science book by Matt Ridley, which has been recognised as a classic in its field. In the book, Ridley explores the issues surrounding the development of human morality.

Key takeaways

The Origins of Virtue belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Origins of Virtue to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Origins of Virtue from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Origins of Virtue is a 1996 popular science book by Matt Ridley, which has been recognised as a classic in its field. In the book, Ridley explores the issues surrounding the development of human morality. The book, written from a sociobiological viewpoint, explores how genetics can be used to explain certain traits of human behaviour, in particular morality and altruism. Starting from the premise that society can, on a simplistic level, be represented as a variant of the prisoner's dilemma, Ridley examines how it has been possible for a society to arise in which people choose to cooperate with others, rather than "defect" and act purely in their own self-interest. Ridley examines the history of different attempts to explain the fact that humans in society do not defect, looking at various computer generated models that have been used to explain how such behaviour could arise. In particular, he looks at systems based on the idea of Tit-for-tat, a program developed by Canadian professor Anatol Rapoport, where members of the group only cooperate with those who also cooperate, and exclude those who do not. This results in the optimum solution to the dilemma being to cooperate, allowing altruistic behaviour to develop. He applies this to humans and suggests that genes that generated altruistic, tit-for-tat behaviour would be likely to be passed on and therefore give rise to the kind of behaviour we see in human society. Ridley then examines the development of tribal mentality, group prejudice, the benefits of trade, and ineffective government regulation. From this, Ridley argues that society operates best in groups of around 150 individuals, which he suggests is the level at which humans are capable of being sure about which members to cooperate with and which to exclude. Although he avoids drawing any specific political points, Ridley ends his book by arguing for a smaller state operating on a more local level.

See also Animal Faith Evolutionary ethics Evolution of morality

References

External links New York Times May 11, 1997 (Review) Jack Hirshleifer (1997) UCLA Working Paper 771 (Review) L. Markoczy & J. Goldberg (1997) The virtue of human universals and cooperation: A review essay of Matt Ridley's The Origins of Virtue

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Origins of Virtue

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Origins of Virtue claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Origins of Virtue before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Origins of Virtue ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Origins of Virtue

In research: The Origins of Virtue appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Origins of Virtue in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Origins of Virtue is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1996 non-fiction books, Books about evolution, Books about sociobiology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Origins of Virtue outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Origins of Virtue in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Origins of Virtue means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Origins of Virtue out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Origins of Virtue in simple terms?

Why does The Origins of Virtue matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Origins of Virtue?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Origins of Virtue.