A Scientific Search for Altruism: Do We Only Care about Ourselves?

This book traces the scientific search for altruism through numerous studies and attempts to examine various motivational suspects, reaching the improbable conclusion that empathy-induced altruism is indeed part of our nature. The book then considers the implications of this conclusion both for our understanding of who we are as humans (the bad news as well as the good) and for how we might create a more humane society.


About the Author
C. Daniel Batson is an experimental social psychologist. He received a Ph.D. in psychology from Princeton University in 1972 and taught at the University of Kansas until his retirement in 2008. For over 40 years, his research has focused on prosocial motivation, with particular emphasis on altruistic and moral motivation, and related emotions. He has published well over a hundred research articles and chapters on these topics, as well as two previous books on altruism.