Spite

“Would you risk harming yourself just to hurt someone else—out of spite? That ancient emotion is back in full-force, as you may have noticed. We’d better understand it, as both a destructive and productive force. This is a timely book.”—Aaron James, author of New York Times bestseller Assholes: a Theory

“Spite tempts us with the promise of deep satisfaction, but it’s a satisfaction that often comes at a high price: Why bother harming others when we end up hurting ourselves in the process? Drawing together insights from evolution, economics, politics, psychology, and neuroscience—and leavening it all with fascinating anecdotes and vibrant writing—McCarthy-Jones has shed important light on a highly misunderstood feature of our life together.”—Michael McCullough, University of California, San Diego

“Essential reading for anyone interested in human social behavior. Simon McCarthy-Jones has delivered an engaging reckoning with the darker side of social interaction, organizing recent research in psychology and biology into a profound argument that spite may have a key role to play in human lives.”—Patrick Forber, Tufts University

“Spite is an eye-opening examination of humanity's nastier impulses—from Achilles to Trump. An erudite and eloquent guide, McCarthy-Jones deftly examines cutting-edge psychological research and evolutionary theory, with some truly startling insights for our personal relationships, business and politics. You will never look at your human nature in quite the same way again.”—David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap