The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule is a 2004 book by author Michael Shermer that examines the transition of humans from creatures driven by social instincts to those governed by moral considerations.

The book delves into fundamental questions regarding human conduct, and the reasons behind behaviors such as cheating, gossiping, altruism, generosity, and adherence to ethical standards like the Golden Rule.

Copan finds issue with Shermer’s argument that scientific evidence can explain why humans are morally obligated to act, when the “backdrop of a supremely self‐aware, rational, good, free, personal Being who made us in His image” is a better explanation.

Overall, Krause describes the text as "replete with valuable insights and facts" and states that it "urges us to stand firm in the face of irrationality and intellectual lethargy as we reason and empathize our way through crises, great and small, judging them individually according to their particular challenges.

There is nothing wrong with this, but such a view is inconsistent with the implication of the book's title, which at least suggests that good and evil are actual axiological categories that exist independent of human opinion."