Bending the Rules: Morality in the Modern World - From Relationships to Politics and War

Everywhere people share certain moral principles--it is bad to steal, to kill, to lie--and yet we often subvert these rules. As Robert Hinde points out in this provocative book, the politician will vote with his party instead of his conscience, a lawyer will argue a point that he or she personally abhors. And this constant bending the rules ultimately endangers our world.

Hinde, an eminent Cambridge biologist and psychologist, here presents a new approach to morality--combining insights from evolutionary science with observations on how people actually behave. Featuring contributions by Nobel Peace Laureate Sir Joseph Rotblat, the book illuminates how rule-bending--hardening in-group boundaries, putting duty over other moral obligations, and much more--occurs within personal relationships, law, science, medicine, politics, business, and war. Hinde argues that many of the world's problems are related to the disregard of moral rules--for instance, racism, religious intolerance, excessive consumerism, and global warming. With growing reliance on nuclear weapons, we are heading for a world ruled by threat and fear, instead of one ruled by law and mutual understanding. We need a new understanding of morality, its nature, sources, and importance for communal living. This book helps to provide that understanding.

Robert A. Hinde is Emeritus Professor of Ethology at the University of Cambridge, and former Master of St. John's College, Cambridge. An acclaimed scientist and peace advocate, he is Fellow of the Royal Society, Honorary Fellow of the British Academy, Honorary Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.