The Moral Animal
Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
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Robert Wright examines a new science that has emerged from the work of evolutionary biologists and the social sciences. Taking the life and work of the evolutionist Charles Darwin as his context, Wright demonstrates how Darwin's ideas are still relevant today. He retells - from the perspective of evolutionary psychology - the stories of Darwin's marriage, family life and career. From this paradigm Wright draws conclusions about the structure of people's most basic preoccupations - sex, ambition, politics, justice - throwing light on the background of these fundamental instincts, showing why they are so important, and explaining how their importance often gives rise to conflicts. This book poses questions about not only the biological bases for morality, but also the biological bases for amorality.
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I can see how this was groundbreaking for its time. But reading it in 2013, after [b:Sperm Wars 852616 Sperm Wars The Science Of Sex Robin Baker http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1178910909s/852616.jpg 190619] and [b:Sex at Dawn 7640261 Sex at Dawn The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality Christopher Ryan http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1291105594s/7640261.jpg 10168576] and [b:Mothers and Others 6251387 Mothers and Others The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding Sarah Blaffer Hrdy http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347821755s/6251387.jpg 6434265] and epigenetics and everything by [a:Sapolsky 6672587 Robert Sapolsky http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], it's hard not to feel frustrated by everything that's missing or incomplete or even wrong — but such is Science. We've learned much in the last 20 years, and Wright is directly responsible for much of that... so I offer a sincere and humble thank-you. With reservations.If you've been paying attention you already know most of what's in here, and more. So read it as you would [b:The Origin of Species 22463 The Origin of Species Charles Darwin http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1298417570s/22463.jpg 481941]: for historical perspective, for the pleasure of flashing back to a time when this knowledge was new.If you're new to this material, proceed with caution. Wright fails to draw a clear distinction between pre- and post-agricultural societies, forgetting that the latter is a recent but drastic aberration from our evolutionary roots. This taints some of his assumptions and arguments about family life and morality. Understandably so, but still, there is much newer knowledge out there: you might want to start with newer material such as the ones in the first paragraph.
