On the Nature of Norms: Biology, Morality, and the Disruption of Order

Authors

Owen D. Jones

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Michigan Law Review

Publication Date

2000

ISSN

0026-2234

Page Number

2072

Keywords

law and economics, norms, morality, economic order, biology, evolution

Disciplines

Biology | Law | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

This essay discusses the legal implications of bio-behavioral underpinnings to norms, morality, and economic order. It first discusses the recent book "The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order," in which Francis Fukuyama explores the importance of evolved human nature to the reconstruction of social order and a thriving economy. It then addresses the extent to which we can usefully view law-relevant norms as products of evolutionary - as well as economic - processes.

Recommended Citation

Owen D. Jones, On the Nature of Norms: Biology, Morality, and the Disruption of Order, 98 Michigan Law Review. 2072 (2000)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1060