Monroe, Kristen Renwick : University of California-Irvine
Kristen Renwick Monroe is Professor of Politics and Associate Director of the Program in Political Psychology at
the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of Presidential Popularity and the Economy and editor
of The Economic Approach to Politics: A Critical Reassessment of the Theory of Rational Action and The Political
Process and Economic Change.
Review
"Monroe elegantly shows that altruism is not one simple thing, but many distinct things, and that .. [it]
is not adequately captured by models based on rational self- interest."
--Martha C. Nussbaum, The New Republic
"In her adventurous new book .. Monroe takes mainstream economics, psychology, and evolutionary biology
to task for assuming self-interest is the key to human behavior.. The Heart of Altruism is an important
achievement, for it sketches a partial route past the whirlpool of selfishness."
--Michael Collins, The New Leader
Princeton University Press
March, 2000
Summary
Is all human behavior based on self-interest? Many social and biological theories would argue so, but such a
perspective does not explain the many truly heroic acts committed by people willing to risk their lives to help
others. In The Heart of Altruism, Kristen Renwick Monroe boldly lays the groundwork for a social theory
receptive to altruism by examining the experiences described by altruists themselves: from Otto, who rescued over
a hundred Jews in Nazi Germany, to Lucille, who, armed with her cane, saved a young girl who was being raped. Monroe's
honest and moving interviews with these little-known heroes enable her to explore the causes of altruism and the
differences between altruists and other people. By delineating an overarching perspective of humanity shared by
altruists, Monroe demonstrates how social theories may begin to account for altruism.
Table of Contents
The Human Face of Altruism
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Ch. 1 The Puzzle of Altruism
Ch. 2 The Entrepreneur
Ch. 3 The Philanthropist
Ch. 4 The Heroine
Ch. 5 Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe
Ch. 6 Sociocultural Attributes of Altruism
Ch. 7 Economic Approaches to Altruism
Ch. 8 Explanations from Evolutionary Biology
Ch. 9 Psychological Discussions of Altruism
Ch. 10 The Altruistic Perspective: Perceptions of a Shared Humanity
Ch. 11 Perspective and Ethical Political Acts: Initial Thoughts