Reputation as a Social Instrument

In this paper I defend the idea that reputation is a uniquely human social instrument, underpinning the distinctive nature of human as compared to all other animal societies. I argue it can be considered as a reliable social instrument, providing information about who others are and what can be expected of them. Four potential objections to this proposal are discussed here: the conditions of contemporary life, doubts about the concept of character in psychology, the unreliability of gossip, the computational complexity entailed in making valid reputational judgements.