Group items tagged

Review by Judith Shulevitz (author of "The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time"): Wade asserts "the God gene" & its evolutionary function - "to bind human beings into cooperative groups," making altruism, group (over self-) interest & solidarity a matter of conscience (with the gods as enforcers). Shulevitz's criticism is "that he has under-ambitiously portrayed religion as less encompassing and consequential than it is."

Daughters and sisters make men more altruistic

But thousands of microbloggers in China have used the juxtaposition of callousness and heroism to fuel a wrenching debate over whether people in their country lack compassion and, if so, why.... Said one commentator about the Hangzhou rescue: "Yesterday Obama had a beer with out-of-work construction workers. Today, I see a story about an American tourist jumping into the water to save someone. I finally realized why America is such a strong country and will continue to be one."