Andrew Mossberg’s Reviews > Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior > Status Update

"Burden of proof is a legal and procedural concept, designed to protect the rights of this or that party (e.g., the accused). It simply has no place in argumentation whose goal is to figure out what is true. In law courts, the burden of proof falls on the prosecution; in science and philoso­phy, it falls on everyone. When evidence is indecisive, we should admit that it is and not invoke a spurious tie-breaker."

"The willingness to act dishonestly increased among students in the economics classes more than it did among those in the astron­omy class. This is evidence that studying economics inhibits coopera­tion. [...] since this motivational theory [psychological egoism] plays a more prominent role in economics than in any other discipline."

"the behaviors that allow some individuals to succeed at the expense of others within the same group are often bad for the group. It is a familiar feature of human life that individual striving often leads to social chaos."