Without reading a single page of the book i will stick my neck out to comment be kind if i miss entirely. Human morality is older than our current religions, and may go back to tendencies observable in other mammals. This communitarian heritage is crucial in relation to this book s theme, since it suggests that morality predates current civilizations and religions by at least a hundred millennia. Drawing from extensive research on animalsprimarily bonobos and chimpanzees, our nearest primate relativesas well as research on fossil records of early hominids, he shows how evidence of moral sentiments, like. I was hooked on to his books after reading the ape and the sushi master. Having heard the protests by prominent atheists against the excerpt published by under the inflammatory banner has militant atheism become a religion. Despite the allpervading influence of religion, the philosophical golden rule appropriated and adapted by nearly every religion is the basis for morality and.
By the way, if you havent read his books, you should definitely check those out. Veneer theory resonates with some traditional theories of morality. He uses years of research on groups of great apes such as bonobos and chimpanzees as evidence that it is evolution, not religion, that gives humanity their moral center. New findings in neuroscience, social psychology, animal behavior, and anthropology have brought us back to the original darwinian position that moral behavior is continuous with the.
This obviously does not make me an expert on the dutch painter, but having grown up with his statue on the market square, i have always been fond of his imagery, his symbolism, and how it relates to humanitys place in the universe. The main conclusion is that morality comes from within, and is part of human nature. In search of humanism among the primates looks at the moral landscape today, including the debates between militant atheism and religion. Scientist finds the beginnings of morality in primate. Also note the fascinating videos of chimps from the yerkes archive. The reductionistnaturalist dogma we are our genes has now been abandoned, as its been replaced for a while by another dogmatic belief. His first book, chimpanzee politics 1982, compared the schmoozing and scheming of chimpanzees involved in power struggles with that of human politicians. It is impossible to know what morality would look like without religion.
Other primates live in highly structured social groups in which rules and inhibitions apply and mutual aid is a daily occurrence. One of the worlds leading primatologists, he has carried out groundbreaking research into empathy, social reciprocity and conflictresolution in primates, as well as the origins of morality and justice in human society. Morality is often defined in opposition to the natural instincts, or as a tool to keep those instincts in check. Ironically, his own primate research opens the door to a third and better option. His research suggests morality is older than religion we do think that primates have different cultures. Fairness, reciprocity, empathy, cooperation caring about the wellbeing of others seems like a very human trait. Moral behavior does not begin and end with religion but is in fact a product of evolution.
The source code for the wiki 2 extension is being checked. Despite the allpervading influence of religion, the philosophical golden rule appropriated and adapted by nearly every religion is the basis for morality and the basis of the behaviour he observes in apes every day. You could also do it yourself at any point in time. After the failure of geneticists, now its neuroscientists turn to argue that free will is an illusion, that consciousness is an epiphenomenon of our brain, and that morality is a mere product of neurons.
Candler professor of psychology at emory university and director of the living links centre at yerkes. Genetic art, whale hearts and morality the new york times. This is a great book if only because it provides views from five different scholars. Jun 04, 20 the book, then, is a conversation about the common ground among atheists and bonobos. Human morality is older than our current religions, and may go back to tendencies. Moral behavior does not begin and end with religion but is in fact a product of. In reading the nearly 700 reader responses to my oct. Oct 10, 2009 human morality must be quite a bit older than religion and civilization. Mama is frail and near death when van hooff, who had overseen her care for decades, enters her cage at burgers zoo in the netherlands.
He observes that humans are far more cooperative and empathic than they are given credit for, and that they are, in many ways similar to other primates. Empathy, morality, community, cultureapes have it all. Drawing from extensive research on animalsprimarily bonobos and chimpanzees, our nearest primate relativesas well as research on fossil records of early hominids, he shows how evidence of moral sentiments, like empathy and altruism, predate the advent of religion by millennia and coevolved in nonhuman primates as well as in humans. So much so that it is seen in apes, monkeys, canids dogs, whales, and dolphins.
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