# We Can Be Cooperative Within Groups and Tribal Between Them by Michael Shermer > “The data from evolutionary psychology has now convinced me that we evolved a dual set of moral sentiments: within groups we tend to be pro-social and cooperative, but between groups we are tribal and xenophobic.” > **— Michael Shermer**, *2008 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Direct publication and locator:** [The Nature of Human Nature — Michael Shermer](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11943) — 2008 Annual Question response, contiguous sentence(s) within the representative extract. - **Exact original excerpt:** “The data from evolutionary psychology has now convinced me that we evolved a dual set of moral sentiments: within groups we tend to be pro-social and cooperative, but between groups we are tribal and xenophobic. Archaeological evidence indicates that Paleolithic humans were anything but noble savages, and that civilization has gradually but ineluctably reduced the amount of within-group aggression and between group violence. And behavior genetics has erased the tabula rasa and replaced it with a highly constrained biological template upon which the environment can act.” - **Context and editing:** Shermer says evolutionary psychology has convinced him of a dual moral tendency; the poster preserves that first-person epistemic posture and both cooperative and tribal sides. No editorial words were inserted. - **Local Edge archive:** [[research/Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation]], response EDGE2008-003. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The data from evolutionary psychology has now convinced me that we evolved a dual set of moral sentiments: within groups we tend to be pro-social and cooperative, but between groups we are tribal and xenophobic.” — Michael Shermer, 2008 Edge Annual Question, response passage https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-michael-shermer-be-cooperative-within-groups-tribal-between ```