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Marc Hauser’s pioneering book, “Moral Minds: How Nature Designed our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong,” published in 2007, attempts to shed light on why humans act the way we do. 
Hauser examines the social structure of humans and animals, drawing from research in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, as well as his own experiments.  
He argues that morals are innate to human beings, in the same way language is innate. He argues that humans are born hardwired to develop a system of morals, in the same way we are hardwired for language.  
Hauser is a professor of Psychology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Biological Anthropology at Harvard University.  
He writes that Biologists have discovered a “moral organ”, a circuit in our brains, specialized to identify situations as morally relevant. He believes that politicians should listen more closely to our intuitions and write policy that takes into account this moral organ.  
Throughout the book, Hauser establishes several characteristics necessary for a being to be a moral agent, and he admits that it is tough to determine just what a non-linguistic creature understands about others’ rights, and their own responsibilities.  
The characteristics necessary to be a moral agent include the ability to lie, an understanding of reciprocity, and the capability to imagine one’s self in someone else’s shoes.  
“Deceptive maneuvers start early…representing the tell tale signature of a developing mind that sees differences between self and other.” Hauser writes about the psychology of the mother-fetus relationship, a constant tug-of-war battle for resources. Through observations of children, He shows the beginnings of moral faculty.  
Hauser writes that experiences modify our actions, and overtime we become more equipped to make more rational moral judgments.  
“Young children understand that moral labels like “bad and “good” are objectively true characterizations, whereas “icky,” “Boring,” and “yummy” are relative and subject to personal preference,” Hauser writes. “…The capacity to make the distinction comes early, putting the child on the path that sees the moral arena through objective glasses.”  
Much of "Moral Minds" consists of reports of experimental results, setting up many different animals in situations where they are forced to cooperate with each other, sometimes rewarding cooperation, and sometimes giving the animal an unexpected outcome. Through evidence gathered in these experiments, Hauser shows that many nonhuman species obey social conventions. He writes that many animals, including apes, are considered moral patients, lacking some intellectual power that humans have. 
“Does the individual understand and respect others’ rights and assume responsibility for his or her actions? If the answer is yes, then the individual is a moral agent. If the answer is no, but the individual can suffer, then he or she is a moral patient.” Hauser writes that an individual’s moral faculty is largely determined by cultural influences: “Our moral faculty is sensitive to contingencies, if-then rules, that allow for exceptions to moral rules about what is or isn’t forbidden. These competences emerge early, presumably in every child, with the help of teachers, parents, and other sages.”
Hauser proposes that moral rules consist of two components: knowledge about what one ought to do, and a set of emotions. Hauser cites the writings of seventeenth century philosopher David Hume, the primary architect of the idea that we alight on moral judgments by calling on our emotions. Disgust is a tell when it comes to judging situations as morally wrong, while empathy tells us when to reach out and help another person.
Hauser quotes developmental psychologist Martin Hoffman, “Empathy is the spark of human concern for others, the glue that makes social life possible.” He believes that morality is grounded in our biology, and that in the future, our moral nature will no longer be only a concern of the humanities and social sciences, but also the natural sciences.
I think Hauser’s observations are valuable in determining how our moral faculty is built; his book offers an overview of many species in many different social settings, allowing the reader to draw some of their own conclusions. After reading Moral Minds, it seems obvious to me that many animals have a degree of moral capacity; humans are simply the most intellectually evolved of these species and have a highly developed moral organ.
He spends a significant amount of time explaining the behaviors of humans as well, setting up children in experimental settings and seeing how they respond. Although a lot of these tests results are somewhat uncertain, I think as a whole, the book helps to explain our human mind, and how it develops overtime.
I enjoyed reading Moral Minds, I found the test data very exciting, and I found myself fascinated with my own mind upon finishing the book. I applied some of the examples to my own life, often feeling not unlike a vervet monkey in the wild, skeptical based upon the reputation of my peers.
“The last two times this person promised to meet me at a scheduled time, he showed up 25 minutes late,” I thought. “This time, I will arrive 25 minutes late, and we will be in sync with each other.”