The Invention of Good and Evil

Reviews / Votes

This fat, complex, good-natured and intriguing book is full of such memorable material...startling and often thrilling -- Spectator Blend[ing] insights from evolutionary biology, cognitive science and anthropology ... Sauer has made a heroic effort to chart how morality has changed since the first humanlike animals began to populate Africa to predict how it might change in the future. It is a rich, complex narrative, full of unexpected twists * Economist * Sauer's comprehensive history of morality from the origins of humanity until today provides a solid basis for contemporary debates - cleverly written, entertaining, and an invitation to rethink one's beliefs * German Non-Fiction Award Jury * Fascinating -- James Hanson * Times Radio * A big book with a broad reach, written by an adroit, confident author ... Sauer is at his best when expounding today's febrile headlines [and] is the best navigator through the treacherous waters of postmodern and post-postmodern sociology that I know -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * Hanno Sauer is a philosopher not shying away from the big questions. The Invention of Good and Evil charts the evolution of moralistic thinking from our earliest ancestors to the present day ... asking us to consider what it means to be good but also what it means to be right [and is] absolutely fascinating -- Sophie Scott-Brown * Intelligence Squared * Many people will resist the idea that morality should be treated as just 'one value among others, not as unquestionably supreme', as Bernard Williams, the 20th-century moral philosopher, put it. The Invention of Good and Evil, an ambitious and anecdote-rich sweeping history of morality's growing influence over our lives, helps us to see why -- Andrew Stark, author of The Consolations of Mortality * Wall Street Journal * Traces humankind's most fundamental moral transformations from our earliest ancestors in East Africa adopting punitive behaviour to punish wrongdoers to today, where egalitarianism has been replaced with hierarchism ... a testament to Sauer's capacity to show that there are two sides to everything -- Zoe Huxford * New Statesman * A tour de force through the history of our values * Der Standard, Austria * One of the best non-fiction books of the year * El Mundo, Spain * Elegant, confident, eloquent and smart -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany This look into the past is very entertaining, versatile, interestingly presented and at the same time razor-sharp and full of surprises. * Muenchner Merkur, Germany * Sauer hits the nail on the head of our current times * Galore Magazine, Germany * Hanno Sauer is one of the most astute ethicists of his generation. So far, there has been no history of morality told from the perspective of philosophy. Sauer closes this gap: knowledgeable, funny and entertaining. -- Philipp Huebl, philosopher and author A brisk, engaging survey covering five million years of human history -- Nilanjana Roy * Financial Times *