Especially good, in my opinion, is Wilson's discussion of the 'two dilemmas' of our post-Darwinian age. The first is the loss of transcendental goals and hopes due to the scientific deconstruction of religion. Unlike many positivists who see nothing but good in the end of illusion, Wilson acknowledges (correctly, I believe) the tremendous psychological and social burdens that it imposes.

The second dilemma concerns our discovery of the intractable circularity of ethics: we must choose among the elements of human nature in accordance with intuitions that well up in us due to... the elements of human nature. Wilson faces up to this conundrum, and boldly makes his calls: for universal human rights, for the preservation of diversity, and for the transference to the scientific project of the psychic energy formerly organized around myth.

The final few sentences, a quotation from Aeschylus, could keep you thinking for the rest of your life.


Social Scientists, Please Read!   November 12, 2000
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

E.O. Wilson composed this towering essay nearly 25 years ago to further develop ideas and relationships proposed in the final pages of his Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. A quarter of a decade later, it continues to startle: in the clarity of its exposition, the aptness of its metaphors, the range of its learning, and, finally, the monumental power marshaled in support of its argument--that human behavior is largely controlled by our species' biological heritage.

For social scientists, one of Wilson's most provocative, and useful, proposals is that biology should serve as the "anti-discipline" to the social sciences; that is, evolutionary biology is at an adjacent level of disciplinary organization, operating underneath the social sciences with the potential for reorganizing the disciplines above it according to its own principles. To a great extent, in the ensuing quarter decade, largely because Wilson and his colleagues have successfully defended the perspective of sociobiology, this has become the case in at least two fields: the new discipline of evolutionary psychology has flourished, and a new generation of anthropologists have also taken up evolutionary biology as part of their methodological toolbox. On the other hand, economists, political scientists, and sociologists have arguably lagged behind in making the relevant connections.

To understand where the social sciences need to go in the 21st century, On Human Behavior remains an indispensable key (together with and Mitch Waldrop's Complexity, still the most successful introduction to complexity science, although the competition is strong). Moreover, this book (and Waldrop's) should be on every undergraduate's reading list. Even if you decide you disagree with Wilson's argument and conclusions, in toto or in part--and I do (in part), believing, for example, that Wilson lets reproductive strategies overdetermine human behavior, leading him to undervalue cultural evolution (although I surmise he would deny this)--you should purchase this book for the elegance of its writing, which will ease you into a confrontation with your own dearly held views about the constituents of "human nature."


The closest thing to answer: "the meaning of life?"   July 28, 2000
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Sheer genious! Application of evolutionary biology to human behavior is the first step in understanding why humans act the way that we do. More people need to understand that evolutionary biology is THE FOUNDATION of science and reading this book will provide enlightenment to anyone. As biological organisms, we are programmed to do everything in our power that will allow us to successfully reproduce and pass on our genes. This book discusses this and many other aspects of human behavior. A wonderful read!


A masterpiece!   June 19, 2000
 13 out of 22 found this review helpful

I read this book in only a few days - TWICE! It's one of the most superbly written science books of the 20th century. Wilson shows true mastery of our human nature; this book should be required reading for ever thinking person on the planet. GET THIS BOOK!


A Good Read!   May 25, 2000
 17 out of 19 found this review helpful

I read this book a number of years ago and loved Wilson's overview of human nature through his observations of human behaviour across cultures. I am amazed at how the previous reviewer politicized Wilson when he is anything but political. Wilson does not exclude the influences of societal attitude and the changes in human behaviour from small to large groups. His review of treatment of women in different societies -- from equal partner in small groups to chattel as the struggles for power emerge in larger groups is an example of Wilson's wonderful eye for human behaviour. Although Wilson is the father of sociobiology, he does not exclude such patterns of human nature that can be attributable to societal interactions, not unlike Jane Goodal's observations of chimpanze behaviour as situational. While it is clearly obvious that our essential makeup is genetic, it is equally clear that as learning beings, our behaviour also has a nurture element, and Wilson is clear about this.

One must read Wilson with an open mind,not cluttered by political preconceptions as the previous reviewer. Wilson makes a point of not politicizing science, and to find a political context to "On Human Nature" one must create it as Wilson certainly does not.