ABSTRACT
Compassion has an evolutionary history that involves the development of caring. This chapter examines humanity's inheritances, which include not only genetic material but things that are transferred across generations outside of genes (extra-genetic). Triune ethics meta-theory (TEM) describes humanity's moral heritages and the ways morality develops in species-typical and species-atypical circumstances. Species-typical personalities lead to compassionate and communally imaginative morality. Our human moral heritages include engagement and communal imagination but toxic stress in early life can undermine their development. A child misdeveloped or undercared for develops stress reactivity. Child-raising practices are notably similar around the world in SBHG societies. The chapter mentions three extra-genetic inheritances, namely cooperation in Nature, the evolved developmental niche (EDN) and human biosocial plasticity. With the EDN humans develop an organic morality, relational attunement with the natural world, grounding ego-self in common self, the whole of life.
