HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023720.jpg
1.81 MB
Extraction Summary
5
People
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Organizations
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Locations
3
Events
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Relationships
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Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Draft article / essay / book chapter
File Size:
1.81 MB
Summary
This document is a draft of an essay titled 'Is Shame Necessary?' by Jennifer Jacquet, intended for the forthcoming book 'Future Science' edited by Max Brockman (August 2011). The text provides Jacquet's academic biography and begins an analysis of shame's function in society, using the 2008 financial crisis and Citigroup's attempted jet purchase as examples of behavior lacking shame. The document bears a 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT' Bates stamp, suggesting it was collected as part of a congressional investigation.
People (5)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Jacquet | Author |
Researcher holding a postdoctoral fellowship at University of British Columbia; author of the essay 'Is Shame Necessa...
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| Max Brockman | Editor |
Editor of the forthcoming book 'Future Science' where this essay will appear.
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| Barack Obama | President of the United States |
Quoted regarding Citigroup's jet purchase and executive bonuses.
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| R. Boyd | Researcher |
Cited in footnote regarding the evolution of human cooperation.
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| P. J. Richerson | Researcher |
Cited in footnote regarding the evolution of human cooperation.
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Organizations (8)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage Press |
Publisher of the book 'Future Science'.
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| Cornell University |
Where Jennifer Jacquet received her master's degree.
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| University of British Columbia |
Where Jennifer Jacquet earned her PhD and holds a fellowship; location of the Mathematics Department.
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| Sea Around Us Project |
A joint collaboration Jacquet works with.
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| Pew Charitable Trusts |
Collaborator on the Sea Around Us Project.
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| Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology |
Institution where Jacquet has colleagues for her research.
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| Citigroup |
Financial institution mentioned for proposing a jet purchase after receiving taxpayer funds.
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| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the Bates stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT'.
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Timeline (3 events)
Locations (2)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
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Location of Vintage Press.
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Location where President Obama gave an interview.
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Relationships (1)
Jennifer Jacquet is the author of an essay in a book edited by Max Brockman.
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,299 characters)
Forthcoming (August 2011) Future Science edited by Max Brockman, Vintage Press, New York.
Is Shame Necessary?
Jennifer Jacquet
Jennifer Jacquet
Jennifer Jacquet graduated with a master's degree in environmental economics from Cornell University in 2004 and earned a PhD in 2009 from the University of British Columbia, where she now holds a postdoctoral fellowship. As part of the Sea Around Us Project, a joint collaboration between the university and the Pew Charitable Trusts, she researches market-based conservation initiatives related to seafood and other natural resources. With colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and UBC’s Mathematics Department, she is currently conducting a series of games and experiments to study the effects of honor and shame on cooperation.
Financial executives received almost $20 billion in bonuses in 2008 amid a serious financial crisis and a $245 billion government bailout. In 2008, more than 3 million American homes went into foreclosure because of mortgage blunders those same executives helped facilitate. Citigroup proposed to buy a $50-million corporate jet in early 2009, shortly after receiving $45-billion in taxpayer funds. Days later, President Obama took note in an Oval Office interview. About the jet, he said, “They should know better.” And the bonuses, he said, were “shameful.”
What is shame’s purpose? Is shame still necessary? These are questions I’m asking myself. After all, it is not just bankers we have to worry about. Most social dilemmas exhibit a similar tension between individual and group interest. Energy, food, and water shortages, climate disruption, declining fisheries, increasing antibiotic resistance, the threat of nuclear warfare—all can be characterized as tragedies of the commons, in which the choices of individuals conflict with the greater good.
Balancing group- and self-interest has never been easy, yet human societies display a high level of cooperation. To attain that level, specialized traits had to evolve, including such emotions as shame.¹ Shame is what is supposed to occur after an individual fails to cooperate
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¹ R. Boyd & P. J. Richerson, “Culture and the evolution of human cooperation,” Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 364: 3281-88 (2009).
¹ R. Boyd & P. J. Richerson, “Culture and the evolution of human cooperation,” Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 364: 3281-88 (2009).
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