Why do Humans We Justice? Our powerful instinct for fairness and justice is a key part of what makes us human. We expect rewards to match efforts, punishments to fit crimes, and people to be treated equally (Starmans et al., 2017). This drive for equity shapes our interpersonal relationships, social structures, political institutions, and legal frameworks (Fehr & Schmidt, 1999). But where does this deep-seated sense of fairness come from? Emerging insights from neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and...
