Rating: 
Summary: Building an authentic future
Review: This book is destined to remain a classic. The quest to understand the role of humanity in Nature will be ongoing for some time to come. Edward Wilson's synthesis tells us why the study of human evolution should be pursued to its fullest extent. Discussing the roots of human behaviour and why we need to study them in greater depth, Wilson's book is an appeal for extensive research and comparative analysis.Wilson's literary and scientific skills are brought fully to light as he takes us through the universals of human behaviour. He addresses the topics of heredity, aggression, religion, altruism and other aspects of what we are in nature. He isn't constricted to simply delineating where we came from, he sees the entire exercise as providing guideposts for our future existence. As he argues, "The only way forward is to study human nature as part of the natural sciences, in an attempt to integrate the natural sciences with the social sciences and humanities." At the outset, he acknowledges how formidable his proposed task is for those who will likely be effected by it. Sociology, anthropology, psychology are all well-established disciplines that will be discomforted by what he's proposing. As the concluding book in his trilogy to build a definition of the science of sociobiology, he's already suffered reaction to his ideas. Wilson, however, is seeking construction, not dissolution. A new field of study on human behaviour can only be achieved by a merger of the established research areas. He knows that the study of humans is almost a divine mandate in the eyes of its practitioners. They have already contended that there isn't enough data to build a new science. He acknowledges that existing evidence is scanty, but suggests that our ignorance is the fullest reason to pursue the work. We mustn't be constrained by those who argue against the existence of our natural roots. With admirable foresight he anticipates his later critics. As he puts it, ". . . no intellectual vice is more crippling than defiantly self-indulgent anthropocentrism." His final chapter, Hope, is his message about the future. Having examined religion as a human universal, he notes its failures through splintering and conflicts. Objects of worship have shifted from the divine to the philosophic. "Visionaries and revolutionaries set out to change the system" which has proven too arbitrary and absolutist. "Human nature," he stresses, is the "potential array" that can be applied by knowledgeable societies to consciously design a better future than appears likely now. The principal task is to measure biological constraints on decision making, to understand them and apply cultural evolution to biological evolution to create a "biology of ethics." The result, Wilson argues, will be a "more deeply understood and enduring code of moral values." These are challenging concepts, requiring serious, dedicated effort. Wilson recognizes that old mythologies, particularly "self-indulgent anthropocentrism," must be swept away. A new and better mythology, the evolutionary epic, will emerge. It will be forged from the biological and social sciences, thereby forcing honesty and reject dogma. He paints an appealing image for scholars and researchers to consider. Many have done so, but die-hards remain entrenched. Those who will benefit the most from his ideas are those who avoid heeding the "small number of [those] who are committed to the view that human behaviour arises from a very few unstructured drives." In other words, avoid the false spectre of "genetic determinism" raised by Wilson's critics and read him directly. There are many rewards in this book and it deserves careful attention. It deserves a place on your shelf to help you along your path to a valid future, untrammeled by false mythologies or barran reasoning.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and enthralling...
Review: This book opened another dimension to my eyes...this book will lead you to an intellectual adventure.
Rating:
Summary: essay by a true humanist.
Review: This hard hitting, thought provoking book should be read by everyone.
The author sides with S.J. Gould that evolution has no goal (no anthropic cosmological principle). Species evolve by natural selection. The brain exists because it promotes survival and multiplication of the genes. He goes even further: the capacities to select particular esthetic judgments and religious beliefs must have arisen by natural selection. He argues that human beings are innately aggressive and fight wars to gain long-term reproductive success.
He hits hard at the interpretation of sexuality by Judaism and Christianity: the sex rules are biological and written by natural selection. In that way, he defends homosexuality.
Facing human nature as it is and evolves, how can we make life better: by the true Promethean spirit of science to liberate man by giving him knowledge and some measure of dominion over himself and his environment.
It will be difficult to refute the strong arguments of the author. He forces us to face the real realities of life and nature. The only solution is knowledge in order that mankind can take the necessary measures to save this planet.
By the way, he sneers at T. Roszak, who didn't find it necessary to replace God by reason; for him it is pure obscurantism.
A great read.
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