Resumo

SUAREZ-RUIZ, E. Joaquín. A Critique of the Theory of Property Derived from the “Tragedy of the Commons” in the Light of an Evolutionary Perspective. En-clav. pen [online]. 2019, vol.13, n.26, pp.102-116.  Epub 10-Jan-2020. ISSN 2594-1100.

The objective of this article is to expose the problem behind the theory of property based on the mental experiment of Garret Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” (TC), in the light of an evolutionary perspective of morality. For this, I will analyze the theories of the psychologist Jonathan Haidt, the utilitarian philosopher Joshua Greene and the primatologist Frans de Waal. These authors affirm that to understand morality, the emotion-reason relationship is a fundamental factor and, in turn, that emotion and not reason is the most important component to understanding morality. In the light of these developments, the TC is revealed as an imprecise instrument for the theory of property, due to the fact that it supposes purely rational agents that represent fictitious individuals.

Palavras-chave : tragedy of the commons; theory of property; evolution of morality; moral psychology.