Is ethics innate to human nature? In Ethical Life Webb Keane tries to answer this question on the basis of empirical research. He attempts this through an analysis of natural and social histories—that is, the analyses of naturalistic research like “neuroscience, cognitive science, linguistics, developmental psychology, and biological anthropology,” and socialistic research like “cultural and linguistic anthropology, historical sociology, sociolinguistics, microsociology, and conversation analysis” (4). Keane asserts that though these disciplines might seem like working at completely opposite directions, “if we look closely at the points where natural and social histories converge, we can gain new insights into ethical life” (4).