Synopses & Reviews
No one who cares about the human future can afford to ignore Edward O. Wilson's book. On Human Nature begins a new phase in the most important intellectual controversy of this generation: Is humanbehavior controlled by the species' biological heritage? Does this heritage limit human destiny?
With characteristic pungency and simplicity of style, the author of Sociobiology challenges oldprejudices and current misconceptions about the nature-nurture debate. He shows how...evolution has left its traces on the most distinctively human activities, how patterns of generosity, self-sacrifice, and worship, as well assexuality and aggression, reveal their deep roots in the life histories of primate bands that hunted big game in the last Ice Age. His goal is nothing less than the completion of the Darwinian revolution by bringing biological thoughtinto the center of the social sciences and the humanities.
Wilson presents a philosophy that cuts across the usual categories of conservative, liberal, or radical thought. In systematically applyingthe modern theory of natural selection to human society, he arrives at conclusions far removed from the social Darwinist legacy ofthe last century. Sociobiological theory, he shows, is compatible with a broadly humane and egalitarianoutlook. Human diversity is to be treasured, not merely tolerated, he argues. Discrimination against ethnic groups, homosexuals, and women is based on a complete misunderstanding of biological fact.
But biological facts can never take the place of ethical choices. Once we understand our human nature, we must choose how "human" in the fullest, biological sense, we wish to remain. We cannot make this choice with the aid of externalguides or absolute ethical principles because our very concept of right and wrong is wholly rooted in our own biological past. This paradox is fundamental to the evolution of consciousness in any species; there is no formula forescaping it. To understand its essence is to grasp the full predicament of the human condition.
Review
Wilson is a sophisticated and marvelously humane writer. His vision is a liberating one, and a reader of this splendid book comes away with a sense of the kinship that exists among the people, animals, and insectsthat share the planet.
Review
Entertaining and stimulating.
Review
With his customary clarity, Wilson presents his thoughts on charting human destiny, which he would prefer to see done through 'precise steering based on biological knowledge.' One of his central arguments is thatvirtually every aspect of human behavior is powerfully affected by biological factors that have a discoverable genetic basis. He analyzes four varieties of human behavior: aggression, sex, altruism, and religion.
Review
Wilson's On Human Natureis an extremely important book--provocative, lucid, and fascinating.
About the Author
Edward O. Wilsonis Pellegrino University Professor at <>Harvard University. In addition to two Pulitzer Prizes (one ofwhich he shares with Bert Hölldobler), Wilson has won many scientific awards, including the National Medal of Science and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Dilemma
2. Heredity
3. Development
4. Emergence
5. Aggression
6. Sex
7. Altruism
8.Religion
9. Hope
Glossary
Notes
Index