An Interview with Richard Wrangham

Q: You open your book, The Goodness Paradox, with a pithy observation: “We can be the nastiest of species and also the nicest.” This is the paradox. And you argue further that society modifies tendencies in both directions. Can you explain that a bit? What should we take away from your claim that “society influences what we care about, but evolution has produced the fact that we care.”

A: For centuries scholars have been puzzled by the contrasts in behavior that you bring up. People are sometimes appallingly violent and at other times endearingly kind-hearted.