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Title: The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation by Matt Ridley ISBN: 0-14-026445-0 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: April, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.06 (33 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Too discursive and circular, though nicely written
Comment: I read this book because of my interest in conflict resolution in the environmental arena. I was initially impressed by the scope of literature from game theory to genetics that the book covers in its arguent. However, I was quite disappointed that Ridley bascially keeps coming back to his zoological credentials and hammering in the "selfish human" hypothesis. In many ways this book is an embellished version of Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene."
There are also a few instances where Ridley oversteps his knowledge base to make inferences about human behavior that are not well-argued. For example, chapter 11, entitled "ecology as religion" reiterates revisionist notions that Native Americans were not environmentally sensitive. While there are some aspects of this argument that are credible, the tone of Ridley's narrative is at times journalistic, condescending, and not well-argued.
Ridley clearly has the potential for writing some of the most lucid scientific prose. However, this particular work gets away with too much simply on account of engaging anecdotes.
Rating: 4
Summary: read another book by Ridley
Comment: Matt Ridley is my favorite popular science writer, but this is his worst book. Maybe it's not that bad, but his others are much better, especially "Genome" and "The Red Queen."
Anyway, a lot of research has been done since "The Origins of Virtue" was published. In its time it was better than it is now, but I recommend getting a more recently written book instead.
As above, I especially recommend "Genome" and "The Red Queen."
But here are some other books you may want to check out before deciding what to purchase:
Jared Diamond's classic "Guns, Germs and Steel"
Robert Wright's "The Moral Animal" (predates "Origins of Virtue" but is still better)
Steven Pinker's "The Blank Slate"
Sarah Hrdy's "Mother Nature"
Pascal Boyer's "Religion Explained"
Rating: 3
Summary: I liked all but the conclusion
Comment: This is a belated review... penned after reading Ridley's more recent book "Genome" and making some casual comparisons.
Where "Genome" stays on its track, "Origins of Virtue" gets rather derailed. Skip the final chapter and you'll enjoy this book. (Or if you're a Libertarian then read ONLY the last chapter and feel vindicated.)
For the most part it's a fine book, one of those rare science books that's entertaining to read. Ridley ties together biology, economics, sociology, anthropology, game theory and more to show how humans (and many other creatures, even at the cellular level) have evolved to be naturally cooperative: being generous has benefits apart from esteem-building.
The problem I have with the book is that Ridley, after leading the reader chapter by chapter through a terrific set of examples and specific experiments and demonstrating the inherent ability of humans (and many other animals) to form first and second order, mutually beneficial alliances, and behave in what appears (on the surface) to be an altruistic manner with no need for religion, government or culture to prompt them, goes on to present a view of government that is pure Newt Gingrich (or Adam Smith) in its philosophy. His final chapters deal with humans' failures as environmental custodians (debunking the myth of the noble savage), proposing that unfettered private property rights are the only way humans can protect the environment for the common good. His logic seems good on the surface but he leaves out a critical point: properties are bought and sold like any other exploitable resource. He does say at one point that currency speculation is a "zero sum game", but so is property speculation based on resource extraction. This view, where a private owner (such as Weyerhauser to use a Northwest example) is assumed to do what is for the common good simply because they are (in theory) thinking long-term and wisely using land that they (or more precisely, their shareholders) own is clearly false. The result is just a "value-added" phenomenon whereby the low-profit, high-efficiency forest is converted (over time) into a sprawling, high-profit but low-efficiency housing development, or golf course, or commercial park. What's good for the property owner is often not good for the society.
That aside, the book is fine, entertaining and thought-provoking.
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Title: Nature Via Nurture : Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human by Matt Ridley ISBN: 0060006781 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley ISBN: 0140245480 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Moral Animal : Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright ISBN: 0679763996 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Genome by Matt Ridley ISBN: 0060932902 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 03 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Nonzero : The Logic of Human Destiny by Robert Wright ISBN: 0679758941 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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