How long does it take to read The Origins of Virtue?
human instincts and the evolution of cooperation
The Origins of Virtue by Matt Ridley takes about 5 hours 25 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 5 hours 25 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1996. 295 pages, about 81,125 words.
11 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 9 hours 1 minute |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 5 hours 25 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 23 minutes |
The page count is the median across 3 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
If evolution by natural selection relentlessly favors self-interest, why do human beings live in complex societies and show so much cooperative spirit? In The Origins of Virtue, Matt Ridley, a zoologist and former American editor of the Economist, shows that recent research in a number of fields has suggested a resolution of the apparent contradiction between self-interest and mutual aid. Brilliantly orchestrating the new findings of geneticists, psychologists, and anthropologists, The Origins of Virtue re-examines the everyday assumptions upon which we base our actions towards others, whether we are nurturing parents, siblings, or trade partners. The Origins of Virtue searches for the roots of that capacity for trust, contrasts it with the social instincts of ants, baboons, and naked mole rats, and draws provocative conclusions for our understanding of politics. Ridley not only traces the evolution of society but shows us how breakthroughs in computer programming, microbiology, and economics have all played their role in providing us with a unique perspective on how and why we relate to each other.
Subjects: Altrui sme, Sociale evolutie, Evolution (Biology), Evolutionary Ethics, E volution (Biologie), Altruisme
