The Moral Animal
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
"Evolutionary theory, after all, has a long and largely sordid history of application to human affairs. After being mingled with political philosophy around the turn of the century to form the vague ideology known as "social Darwinism," it played into the hands of racists, fascists, and the most heartless sort of capitalists." --The Moral Animal (1994) by Robert Wright |
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The Moral Animal is a 1994 book by Robert Wright, in which the author explores many aspects of everyday life through evolutionary biology.
Summary
Wright explores many aspects of everyday life through evolutionary biology. He provides Darwinian explanations for human behavior and psychology, social dynamics and structures, as well as people's relationships with lovers, friends, and family.
Wright borrows extensively from Charles Darwin's better-known publications, including On the Origin of Species (1859), but also from his chronicles and personal writings, illustrating behavioral principles with Darwin's own biographical examples.
Reception
The New York Times Book Review chose The Moral Animal as one of the 12 best books of 1994; it was a national bestseller and has been published in 12 languages. The paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould criticized the book in The New York Review of Books. The anthropologist Melvin Konner called the book "delightful".
See also
- Evolutionary ethics
- Evolutionary psychology
- John Stuart Mill
- Kin selection
- Reciprocal altruism
- Richard Dawkins
- Steven Pinker
- The Naked Ape