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Mr. Brooks is all tied up in knots. Rational analysis is not, he claims, how we make moral judgments. That was a mistake by Socrates that’s been copied ever since, like a gene for color-blindness. Our moral judgments are intuitive, emotive. They follow what feels good and rationalize it; they don’t precede or dictate it. (Which sounds heretically close to the supposed DFH mantra of, "If it feels good, do it.")

Rest easy, Republican Base, Mr. Brooks seems to say. The Rush of emotions you’re feeling are naturally selected, inheritable responses to your environment. You needn’t worry that they are tendencies that need dampening in light of conflicting moral claims that ought to override "bestial" ones, or those inherited from fundamentally different circumstances, but which cling to our psyche like Oedipal rage. That’s the premise of Mr. Brooks’ directionless exploration of the controversial discipline called evolutionary psychology, in an essay with the understated title of, The End of Philosophy.

A good argument, like a well-designed knot is easy to tie (with practice) and holds fast. Unlike a good argument, a good knot is easily undone when it’s work is finished.  They both come in all shapes and sizes, and are used for many different purposes, from slipping easily to holding fast.  A badly turned knot, like a poor argument, binds when it shouldn’t, slips when it should bind, and can’t be undone without the patience of Job.  Bobo’s analysis is a badly tied knot that distracts rather than enlightens. He often comes up with similar "thought" pieces when the Beltway is abuzz with bad news for Republicans.

This week, it could be the ICRC documenting the Bush administration’s torture, no doubt of interest to Spanish prosecutors. It could be that Obama escalated troops deployed in Afghanistan by more than 9000 and we heard about it inadvertently. Or, that the EFCA legislation went down thanks to a desperate Arlen Specter, hoping to leave the Senate feet first rather than on a rail, and thanks to the Walton family’s pet, Senator Lincoln from Arkansas. It could also be that Hawkeye Iowa’s allowing gay marriage makes it more liberal than California (or that Mormons don’t know where it is), or that banks continue to engorge themselves on taxpayers’ money like drunken defense contractors.

Evolutionary psychology could be interesting, but Mr. Brooks uses it as a MacGuffin. With our attention focused on multi-syllabic jargon, Bobo makes three nice claims that reward and strengthen the Base. (Nice in the sense of "comfortable or convenient", not the more academic "fine distinction". In fact, Bobo jumbles concepts and makes contradictory arguments with a freshman’s abandon.) Evolutionary psychology, Bobo says,

emphasizes the social nature of moral intuitions;

entails a warmer view of human nature; and

explains the haphazard way most of us lead our lives without destroying dignity and choice.

In short, we have evolved psychologically not just to compete, but to cooperate and to stand fast in the face of our foes:

Like bees, humans have long lived or died based on their ability to divide labor, help each other and stand together in the face of common threats. Many of our moral emotions and intuitions reflect that history. We don’t just care about our individual rights, or even the rights of other individuals. We also care about loyalty, respect, traditions, religions. We are all the descendents [sic] of successful cooperators.

That must make obstructionist Rump Republicans rare surviving Neanderthals. They clearly descend from ancestors in whom “successful cooperation” was not an inheritable trait.