# Tolerance May Have Emerged From Collective Sanctions by Richard Wrangham > “Our virtue is our tolerance in face-to-face interactions, and the evolutionary question is where this comes from. The solution I present is that it comes ultimately from capital punishment, a practice made possible by our capacity for proactive violence.” > **— Richard Wrangham**, *How violence pointed to virtue, Harvard faculty interview* ## Sources and Context - **Original publication:** [How violence pointed to virtue](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/01/author-examines-the-strange-relationship-between-good-and-evil/) — Harvard faculty interview; Wrangham presents his evolutionary theory of reduced reactive aggression, not a settled causal finding. - **Exact original wording:** “Our virtue is our tolerance in face-to-face interactions, and the evolutionary question is where this comes from. The solution I present is that it comes ultimately from capital punishment, a practice made possible by our capacity for proactive violence.” ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Insect World of Intelligence and Mind-Control Parasitism|The Insect World of Intelligence and Mind-Control Parasitism]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] - [[wiki/Human Evolution|Human Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Our virtue is our tolerance in face-to-face interactions, and the evolutionary question is where this comes from. The solution I present is that it comes ultimately from capital punishment, a practice made possible by our capacity for proactive violence.” — Richard Wrangham, How violence pointed to virtue https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-richard-wrangham-tolerance-may-have-emerged-from-collective ```