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| the moral animal by robert wright: The Moral Animal Robert Wright, 1995-08-29 One of the most provocative science books ever published—a feast of great thinking and writing about the most profound issues there are (The New York Times Book Review). Fiercely intelligent, beautifully written and engrossingly original. —The New York Times Book Review Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animaled one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics—as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies. Illustrations. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Moral Animal Robert Wright, 2010-11-03 One of the most provocative science books ever published—a feast of great thinking and writing about the most profound issues there are (The New York Times Book Review). Fiercely intelligent, beautifully written and engrossingly original. —The New York Times Book Review Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animaled one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics—as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies. Illustrations. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Moral Animal Robert Wright, 1995-08-29 One of the most provocative science books ever published—a feast of great thinking and writing about the most profound issues there are (The New York Times Book Review). Fiercely intelligent, beautifully written and engrossingly original. —The New York Times Book Review Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animaled one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics—as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies. Illustrations. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Moral Animal Robert Wright, 1997-10 |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Summary of The Moral Animal by Robert Wright QuickRead, Alyssa Burnette, Learn how evolutionary psychology can explain human behavior. Human beings have often said that our moral compass is what sets us apart from other animals. We are humans because we know we have a conscience and an ability to identify the “morally right” thing to do. The Moral Animal (1994) expounds on this belief by unpacking the tenets of evolutionary psychology. Do you want more free book summaries like this? Download our app for free at https://www.QuickRead.com/App and get access to hundreds of free book and audiobook summaries. DISCLAIMER: This book summary is meant as a summary and an analysis and not a replacement for the original work. If you like this summary please consider purchasing the original book to get the full experience as the original author intended it to be. If you are the original author of any book published on QuickRead and want us to remove it, please contact us at hello@quickread.com. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Nonzero Robert Wright, 2001-04-20 In his bestselling The Moral Animal, Robert Wright applied the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of the human mind. Now Wright attempts something even more ambitious: explaining the direction of evolution and human history–and discerning where history will lead us next. In Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Wright asserts that, ever since the primordial ooze, life has followed a basic pattern. Organisms and human societies alike have grown more complex by mastering the challenges of internal cooperation. Wright's narrative ranges from fossilized bacteria to vampire bats, from stone-age villages to the World Trade Organization, uncovering such surprises as the benefits of barbarian hordes and the useful stability of feudalism. Here is history endowed with moral significance–a way of looking at our biological and cultural evolution that suggests, refreshingly, that human morality has improved over time, and that our instinct to discover meaning may itself serve a higher purpose. Insightful, witty, profound, Nonzero offers breathtaking implications for what we believe and how we adapt to technology's ongoing transformation of the world. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Why Buddhism is True Robert Wright, 2017-08-08 From one of America’s most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer—and the reason we make other people suffer—is that we don’t see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness. In this “sublime” (The New Yorker), pathbreaking book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life—how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright’s landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world’s most skilled meditators. The result is a story that is “provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding” (The New York Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Three Scientists and Their Gods Robert Wright, 1988 Profiles of 3 contemporary scientists-a computer expert, a biologist, and an economist. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Summary of Robert Wright's The Moral Animal Everest Media, 2022-03-05T22:59:00Z Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Victorian era was a time of sexual repression, as Victorian physicians warned against the dangers of sexual indulgence for boys. However, this outlook also spread beyond the walls of the Methodist churches into the homes of Anglicans, Unitarians, and even agnostics. #2 Charles Darwin was originally going to be a doctor, but he became interested in zoology instead. His father, however, wanted him to join the clergy. #3 The idea of natural selection, while indeed sweeping in significance, is not really massive in structure. It is a small and simple theory. It doesn’t take a huge intellect to conceive it. #4 The process of natural selection is what makes us what we are today. It is the process of choosing the fittest members of a species, and destroying the less-fit ones. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Ape that Understood the Universe Steve Stewart-Williams, 2019-11-21 The Ape that Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our altruistic tendencies, and our culture? The book tackles these issues by drawing on two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory. The guiding assumption is that humans are animals, and that like all animals, we evolved to pass on our genes. At some point, however, we also evolved the capacity for culture - and from that moment, culture began evolving in its own right. This transformed us from a mere ape into an ape capable of reshaping the planet, travelling to other worlds, and understanding the vast universe of which we're but a tiny, fleeting fragment. Featuring a new foreword by Michael Shermer. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Evolution of God Robert Wright, 2009-06-08 In this sweeping narrative that takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved. Through the prisms of archaeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversy. He explains why spirituality has a role today, and why science, contrary to conventional wisdom, affirms the validity of the religious quest. And this previously unrecognized evolutionary logic points not toward continued religious extremism, but future harmony. Nearly a decade in the making, The Evolution of God is a breathtaking re-examination of the past, and a visionary look forward. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Rational Animal Douglas T Kenrick, Vladas Griskevicius, 2013-09-10 Why do three out of four professional football players go bankrupt? How can illiterate jungle dwellers pass a test that tricks Harvard philosophers? And why do billionaires work so hard -- only to give their hard-earned money away? When it comes to making decisions, the classic view is that humans are eminently rational. But growing evidence suggests instead that our choices are often irrational, biased, and occasionally even moronic. Which view is right -- or is there another possibility? In this animated tour of the inner workings of the mind, psychologist Douglas T. Kenrick and business professor Vladas Griskevicius challenge the prevailing views of decision making, and present a new alternative grounded in evolutionary science. By connecting our modern behaviors to their ancestral roots, they reveal that underneath our seemingly foolish tendencies is an exceptionally wise system of decision making. From investing money to choosing a job, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, our choices are driven by deep-seated evolutionary goals. Because each of us has multiple evolutionary goals, though, new research reveals something radical -- there's more than one you making decisions. Although it feels as if there is just one single self inside your head, your mind actually contains several different subselves, each one steering you in a different direction when it takes its turn at the controls. The Rational Animal will transform the way you think about decision making. And along the way, you'll discover the intimate connections between ovulating strippers, Wall Street financiers, testosterone-crazed skateboarders, Steve Jobs, Elvis Presley, and you. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Meme Machine Susan Blackmore, 2000-03-16 Humans are extraordinary creatures, with the unique ability among animals to imitate and so copy from one another ideas, habits, skills, behaviours, inventions, songs, and stories. These are all memes, a term first coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Memes, like genes, are replicators, and this enthralling book is an investigation of whether this link between genes and memes can lead to important discoveries about the nature of the inner self. Confronting the deepest questions about our inner selves, with all our emotions, memories, beliefs, and decisions, Susan Blackmore makes a compelling case for the theory that the inner self is merely an illusion created by the memes for the sake of replication. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite Robert Kurzban, 2012-05-27 The evolutionary psychology behind human inconsistency We're all hypocrites. Why? Hypocrisy is the natural state of the human mind. Robert Kurzban shows us that the key to understanding our behavioral inconsistencies lies in understanding the mind's design. The human mind consists of many specialized units designed by the process of evolution by natural selection. While these modules sometimes work together seamlessly, they don't always, resulting in impossibly contradictory beliefs, vacillations between patience and impulsiveness, violations of our supposed moral principles, and overinflated views of ourselves. This modular, evolutionary psychological view of the mind undermines deeply held intuitions about ourselves, as well as a range of scientific theories that require a self with consistent beliefs and preferences. Modularity suggests that there is no I. Instead, each of us is a contentious we--a collection of discrete but interacting systems whose constant conflicts shape our interactions with one another and our experience of the world. In clear language, full of wit and rich in examples, Kurzban explains the roots and implications of our inconsistent minds, and why it is perfectly natural to believe that everyone else is a hypocrite. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Secular Buddhism Noah Rasheta, 2016-10-26 In this simple yet important book, Noah Rasheta takes profound Buddhist concepts and makes them easy to understand for anyone trying to become a better whatever-they-already-are. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters Alan Miller, Satoshi Kanazawa, 2007-09-04 Now available in paperback?a provocative new look at biology, evolution, and human behavior ?as disturbing [as it is] fascinating? (Publishers Weekly). Why are most neurosurgeons male and most kindergarten teachers female? Why aren?t there more women on death row? Why do so many male politicians ruin their careers with sex scandals? Why and how do we really fall in love? This engaging book uses the latest research from the field of evolutionary psychology to shed light on why we do the things we do?from life plans to everyday decisions. With a healthy disregard for political correctness, Miller and Kanazawa reexamine the fact that our brains and bodies are hardwired to carry out an evolutionary mission? an inescapable human nature that actually stopped evolving about 10,000 years ago. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: A Working Girl Can't Win Deborah Garrison, 2009-02-19 Deborah Garrison, whose work as an editor and writer has enlivened the pages of The New Yorker for more than a decade, evokes the characters and events of her everyday life with intense feeling and, more important, conjures up the universal dilemmas and pleasures of a young woman trying to come to terms with love and work. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience Steven Platek, Julian Keenan, Todd Kennedy Shackelford, 2007 An essential reference for the new discipline of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience that defines the field's approach of applying evolutionary theory to guide brain-behavior investigations. Since Darwin we have known that evolution has shaped all organisms and that biological organs—including the brain and the highly crafted animal nervous system—are subject to the pressures of natural and sexual selection. It is only relatively recently, however, that the cognitive neurosciences have begun to apply evolutionary theory and methods to the study of brain and behavior. This landmark reference documents and defines the emerging field of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience. Chapters by leading researchers demonstrate the power of the evolutionary perspective to yield new data, theory, and insights on the evolution and functional modularity of the brain. Evolutionary cognitive neuroscience covers all areas of cognitive neuroscience, from nonhuman brain-behavior relationships to human cognition and consciousness, and each section of Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience addresses a different adaptive problem. After an introductory section that outlines the basic tenets of both theory and methodology of an evolutionarily informed cognitive neuroscience, the book treats neuroanatomy from ontogenetic and phylogenetic perspectives and explores reproduction and kin recognition, spatial cognition and language, and self-awareness and social cognition. Notable findings include a theory to explain the extended ontogenetic and brain development periods of big-brained organisms, fMRI research on the neural correlates of romantic attraction, an evolutionary view of sex differences in spatial cognition, a theory of language evolution that draws on recent research on mirror neurons, and evidence for a rudimentary theory of mind in nonhuman primates. A final section discusses the ethical implications of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience and the future of the field. Contributors: C. Davison Ankney, Simon Baron-Cohen, S. Marc Breedlove, William Christiana, Michael Corballis, Robin I. M. Dunbar, Russell Fernald, Helen Fisher, Jonathan Flombaum, Farah Focquaert, Steven J.C. Gaulin, Aaron Goetz, Kevin Guise, Ruben C. Gur, William D. Hopkins, Farzin Irani, Julian Paul Keenan, Michael Kimberly, Stephen Kosslyn, Sarah L. Levin, Lori Marino, David Newlin, Ivan S. Panyavin, Shilpa Patel, Webb Phillips, Steven M. Platek, David Andrew Puts, Katie Rodak, J. Philippe Rushton, Laurie Santos, Todd K. Shackelford, Kyra Singh, Sean T. Stevens, Valerie Stone, Jaime W. Thomson, Gina Volshteyn, Paul Root Wolpe |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Atheist Delusions David Bentley Hart, 2009-04-21 Religious scholar Hart argues that contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history and provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists' misrepresentations of the Christian past. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Mindwise Nicholas Epley, 2015-01-06 Winner of the 2015 Book Prize for the Promotion of Social and Personality Science (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) Why are we sometimes blind to the minds of others, treating them like objects or animals instead? Why do we talk to our cars, or the stars, as if there is a mind that can hear us? Why do we so routinely believe that others think, feel, and want what we do when, in fact, they do not? And why do we think we understand our spouses, family, and friends so much better than we actually do? In this illuminating book, leading social psychologist Nicholas Epley introduces us to what scientists have learned about our ability to understand the most complicated puzzle on the planet—other people—and the surprising mistakes we so routinely make. Mindwise will not turn others into open books, but it will give you the wisdom to revolutionize how you think about them—and yourself. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Metaphysical Animals Clare Mac Cumhaill, Rachael Wiseman, 2023-10-24 A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND THE NEW YORKER • A vibrant portrait of four college friends—Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot, Elizabeth Anscombe, and Mary Midgley—who formed a new philosophical tradition while Oxford's men were away fighting World War II. The history of European philosophy is usually constructed from the work of men. In Metaphysical Animals, a pioneering group biography, Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman offer a compelling alternative. In the mid-twentieth century Elizabeth Anscombe, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot, and Iris Murdoch were philosophy students at Oxford when most male undergraduates and many tutors were conscripted away to fight in the Second World War. Together, these young women, all friends, developed a philosophy that could respond to the war’s darkest revelations. Neither the great Enlightenment thinkers of the past, the logical innovators of the early twentieth century, or the new Existentialist philosophy trickling across the Channel, could make sense of this new human reality of limitless depravity and destructive power, the women felt. Their answer was to bring philosophy back to life. We are metaphysical animals, they realized, creatures that can question their very being. Who am I? What is freedom? What is human goodness? The answers we give, they believed, shape what we will become. Written with expertise and flair, Metaphysical Animals is a lively portrait of women who shared ideas, but also apartments, clothes and even lovers. Mac Cumhaill and Wiseman show how from the disorder and despair of the war, four brilliant friends created a way of ethical thinking that is there for us today. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Moral Animal Robert Wright, 1994 An accessible introduction to the science of evolutionary psychology and how it explains many aspects of human nature. Unlike many books on the topic, which focus on abstractions like kin selection, this book focuses on Darwinian explanations of why we are the way we are--emotionally and morally--and interweaves episodes from Darwin's own life as illuminating examples. Wright deals particularly well with explaining the reasons for the stereotypical dynamics of the three big S's: sex, siblings, and society. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Created from Animals James Rachels, 1991 Western philosophy and religion, James Rachels argues, have been shaken by the implications of Darwin's work, most notably the controversial idea that humans are simply a more complex kind of animal. Here, Rachels assesses a number of studies that suggest how closely humans are linked to other primates in behavior, and then goes on to show how this idea undercuts the work of many prominent philosophers. Created from Animals offers a provocative look at how Darwinian evolution undermines many tenets of traditional philosophy and religion. Rachels begins by examining Darwin's own life and work, presenting an astonishingly vivid and compressed biography. We see Darwin's studies of the psychological links in evolution (such as emotions in dogs, and the mental powers of worms), and how he addressed the moral implications of his work, especially in his concern for the welfare of animals. Rachels goes on to present a lively and accessible survey of the controversies that followed in Darwin's wake, ranging from Herbert Spencer's Social Darwinism to Edward O. Wilson's sociobiology, and discusses how the work of such influential intellects as Descartes, Hume, Kant, T.H. Huxley, Henri Bergson, B.F. Skinner, and Stephen Jay Gould has contributed to--or been overthrown by--evolutionary science. With this sweeping survey of the arguments, the philosophers, and the deep implications surrounding Darwinism, Rachels lays the foundations for a new view of morality. Virbrantly written and provocatively argued, Created from Animals offers a new perspective on issues ranging from suicide to euthanasia to animal rights. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Animal Experimentation Robert M. Baird, Stuart E. Rosenbaum, 1991 Presents articles debating the use of animals in scientific research. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Man's Guide to Women John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD, Douglas Abrams, Rachel Carlton Abrams, M.D., 2016-02-02 Results from world-renowned relationship expert John Gottman’s famous Love Lab have proven an incredible truth: Men make or break relationships. Based on 40 years of research, The Man’s Guide to Women unlocks the mystery of how to attract, satisfy, and succeed with a woman for a lifetime. For the first time ever, there is a science-based answer to the age-old question: What do women really want in a man? Dr. Gottman, author of the New York Times bestseller The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, and his wife and collaborator, clinical psychologist Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD, have pored over the research along with bestselling coauthors Douglas Abrams and Rachel Carlton Abrams, MD. Together, they have written this definitive guide for men, providing answers on everything from how to approach a woman and build a connection with her to how to truly satisfy her in bed and know when the relationship is on the right track. The Man’s Guide to Women is a must-have playbook for how to play—and win—the game of love. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Primates and Philosophers Frans de Waal, 2016-03-22 Can virtuous behavior be explained by nature, and not by human rational choice? It's the animal in us, we often hear when we've been bad. But why not when we're good? Primates and Philosophers tackles this question by exploring the biological foundations of one of humanity's most valued traits: morality. In this provocative book, renowned primatologist Frans de Waal argues that modern-day evolutionary biology takes far too dim a view of the natural world, emphasizing our selfish genes and reinforcing our habit of labeling ethical behavior as humane and the less civilized as animalistic. Seeking the origin of human morality not in evolution but in human culture, science insists that we are moral by choice, not by nature. Citing remarkable evidence based on his extensive research of primate behavior, de Waal attacks Veneer Theory, which posits morality as a thin overlay on an otherwise nasty nature. He explains how we evolved from a long line of animals that care for the weak and build cooperation with reciprocal transactions. Drawing on Darwin, recent scientific advances, and his extensive research of primate behavior, de Waal demonstrates a strong continuity between human and animal behavior. He probes issues such as anthropomorphism and human responsibilities toward animals. His compelling account of how human morality evolved out of mammalian society will fascinate anyone who has ever wondered about the origins and reach of human goodness. Based on the Tanner Lectures de Waal delivered at Princeton University's Center for Human Values in 2004, Primates and Philosophers includes responses by the philosophers Peter Singer, Christine M. Korsgaard, and Philip Kitcher and the science writer Robert Wright. They press de Waal to clarify the differences between humans and other animals, yielding a lively debate that will fascinate all those who wonder about the origins and reach of human goodness. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Just Babies Paul Bloom, 2014-11-11 A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone. From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society—and especially parents—to transform them from little sociopaths into civilized beings. In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing on groundbreaking research at Yale, Bloom demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others’ actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice. Still, this innate morality is limited, sometimes tragically. We are naturally hostile to strangers, prone to parochialism and bigotry. Bringing together insights from psychology, behavioral economics, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Bloom explores how we have come to surpass these limitations. Along the way, he examines the morality of chimpanzees, violent psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and explores our often puzzling moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race. In his analysis of the morality of children and adults, Bloom rejects the fashionable view that our moral decisions are driven mainly by gut feelings and unconscious biases. Just as reason has driven our great scientific discoveries, he argues, it is reason and deliberation that makes possible our moral discoveries, such as the wrongness of slavery. Ultimately, it is through our imagination, our compassion, and our uniquely human capacity for rational thought that we can transcend the primitive sense of morality we were born with, becoming more than just babies. Paul Bloom has a gift for bringing abstract ideas to life, moving seamlessly from Darwin, Herodotus, and Adam Smith to The Princess Bride, Hannibal Lecter, and Louis C.K. Vivid, witty, and intellectually probing, Just Babies offers a radical new perspective on our moral lives. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Darwin's Unfinished Symphony Kevin N. Lala, 2018-09-11 Humans possess an extraordinary capacity for culture, from the arts and language to science and technology. But how did the human mind—and the uniquely human ability to devise and transmit culture—evolve from its roots in animal behavior? Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony presents a captivating new theory of human cognitive evolution. This compelling and accessible book reveals how culture is not just the magnificent end product of an evolutionary process that produced a species unlike all others—it is also the key driving force behind that process. Kevin N. Lala tells the story of the painstaking fieldwork, the key experiments, the false leads, and the stunning scientific breakthroughs that led to this new understanding of how culture transformed human evolution. It is the story of how Darwin’s intellectual descendants picked up where he left off and took up the challenge of providing a scientific account of the evolution of the human mind. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Second Child Deborah Garrison, 2008-04-01 Nine years after the stunning debut of her critically acclaimed poetry collection A Working Girl Can’t Win, which chronicled the progress and predicaments of a young woman, Deborah Garrison now moves into another stage of adulthood–starting a family and saying good-bye to a more carefree self. In The Second Child, Garrison explores every facet of motherhood–the ambivalence, the trepidation, and the joy (“Sharp bliss in proximity to the roundness, / The globe already set aspin, particular / Of a whole new life”)– and comes to terms with the seismic shift in her outlook and in the world around her. She lays out her post-9/11 fears as she commutes daily to the city, continues to seek passion in her marriage, and wrestles with her feelings about faith and the mysterious gift of happiness. Sometimes sensual, sometimes succinct, always candid, The Second Child is a meditation on the extraordinariness resident in the everyday–nursing babies, missing the past, knowing when to lead a child and knowing when to let go. With a voice sound and wise, Garrison examines a life fully lived. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Why I Am Not a Buddhist Evan Thompson, 2020-01-28 A provocative essay challenging the idea of Buddhist exceptionalism, from one of the world's most widely respected philosophers and writers on Buddhism and science. Buddhism has become a uniquely favored religion in our modern age. A burgeoning number of books extol the scientifically proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness for everything ranging from business to romance. There are conferences, courses, and celebrities promoting the notion that Buddhism is spirituality for the rational; compatible with cutting-edge science; indeed, a science of the mind. In this provocative book, Evan Thompson argues that this representation of Buddhism is false. In lucid and entertaining prose, Thompson dives deep into both Western and Buddhist philosophy to explain how the goals of science and religion are fundamentally different. Efforts to seek their unification are wrongheaded and promote mistaken ideas of both. He suggests cosmopolitanism instead, a worldview with deep roots in both Eastern and Western traditions. Smart, sympathetic, and intellectually ambitious, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Buddhism's place in our world today.--Provided by publisher. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Average Is Over Tyler Cowen, 2013-09-12 Renowned economist and author of Big Business Tyler Cowen brings a groundbreaking analysis of capitalism, the job market, and the growing gap between the one percent and minimum wage workers in this follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Great Stagnation. The United States continues to mint more millionaires and billionaires than any country ever. Yet, since the great recession, three quarters of the jobs created here pay only marginally more than minimum wage. Why is there growth only at the top and the bottom? Economist and bestselling author Tyler Cowen explains that high earners are taking ever more advantage of machine intelligence and achieving ever-better results. Meanwhile, nearly every business sector relies less and less on manual labor, and that means a steady, secure life somewhere in the middle—average—is over. In Average is Over, Cowen lays out how the new economy works and identifies what workers and entrepreneurs young and old must do to thrive in this radically new economic landscape. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Our Man in Tehran Robert Wright, 2011-01-11 For the true story behind Argo, read Our Man in Tehran The world watched with fear in November 1979, when Iranian students infiltrated and occupied the American embassy in Tehran. The Americans were caught entirely by surprise, and what began as a swift and seemingly short-lived takeover evolved into a crisis that would see fifty four embassy personnel held hostage, most for 444 days. As Tehran exploded in a fury of revolution, six American diplomats secretly escaped. For three months, Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran—along with his wife and embassy staffers—concealed the Americans in their homes, always with the prospect that the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Khomeini would exact deadly consequences. The United States found itself handcuffed by a fractured, fundamentalist government it could not understand and had completely underestimated. With limited intelligence resources available on the ground and anti-American sentiment growing, President Carter turned to Taylor to work with the CIA in developing their exfiltration plans. Until now, the true story behind Taylor’s involvement in the escape of the six diplomats and the Eagle Claw commando raid has remained classified. In Our Man in Tehran, Robert Wright takes us back to a major historical flashpoint and unfolds a story of cloak-and-dagger intrigue that brings a new understanding of the strained relationship between the Unites States and Iran. With the world once again focused on these two countries, this book is the stuff of John le Carré and Daniel Silva made real. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Animal Experimentation Cindy Mur, 2004 An estimated twenty million animals are used for experiments in the United States every year. While researchers believe testing on animals is essential for maintaining human health, animal rights activists assert that it is immoral and unreliable. This anthology debates the scientific data and ethical concerns associated with animal experimentation. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: No Self, No Problem Chris Niebauer, 2019-09-03 While in grad school in the early 1990s, Chris Niebauer began to notice striking parallels between the latest discoveries in psychology, neuroscience, and the teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and other schools of Eastern thought. When he presented his findings to a professor, his ideas were quickly dismissed as “pure coincidence, nothing more.” Fast-forward 20 years later and Niebauer is a PhD and a tenured professor, and the Buddhist-neuroscience connection he found as a student is practically its own genre in the bookstore. But according to Niebauer, we are just beginning to understand the link between Eastern philosophy and the latest findings in psychology and neuroscience and what these assimilated ideas mean for the human experience. In this groundbreaking book, Niebauer writes that the latest research in neuropsychology is now confirming a fundamental tenet of Buddhism, what is called Anatta, or the doctrine of “no self.” Niebauer writes that our sense of self, or what we commonly refer to as the ego, is an illusion created entirely by the left side of the brain. Niebauer is quick to point out that this doesn't mean that the self doesn't exist but rather that it does so in the same way that a mirage in the middle of the desert exists, as a thought rather than a thing. His conclusions have significant ramifications for much of modern psychological modalities, which he says are spending much of their time trying to fix something that isn’t there. What makes this book unique is that Niebauer offers a series of exercises to allow the reader to experience this truth for him- or herself, as well as additional tools and practices to use after reading the book, all of which are designed to change the way we experience the world—a way that is based on being rather than thinking. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Introducing Evolutionary Psychology Dylan Evans, Oscar Zarate, 2005 Using evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology as well as anthropolgy, primatology and archaeology, characters such as Dawkins, Gould and Dennett are beginning to piece together the first truly scientific account of human nature. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Paving the Great Way Jonathan C. Gold, 2014-11-11 The Indian Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu (fourth–fifth century C.E.) is known for his critical contribution to Buddhist Abhidharma thought, his turn to the Mahayana tradition, and his concise, influential Yogacara–Vijñanavada texts. Paving the Great Way reveals another dimension of his legacy: his integration of several seemingly incompatible intellectual and scriptural traditions, with far-ranging consequences for the development of Buddhist epistemology and the theorization of tantra. Most scholars read Vasubandhu's texts in isolation and separate his intellectual development into distinct phases. Featuring close studies of Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosabhasya, Vyakhyayukti, Vimsatika, and Trisvabhavanirdesa, among other works, this book identifies recurrent treatments of causality and scriptural interpretation that unify distinct strands of thought under a single, coherent Buddhist philosophy. In Vasubandhu's hands, the Buddha's rejection of the self as a false construction provides a framework through which to clarify problematic philosophical issues, such as the nature of moral agency and subjectivity under a broadly causal worldview. Recognizing this continuity of purpose across Vasubandhu's diverse corpus recasts the interests of the philosopher and his truly innovative vision, which influenced Buddhist thought for a millennium and continues to resonate with today's philosophical issues. An appendix includes extensive English-language translations of the major texts discussed. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: The Clay Orchard Robert S. Wright, 2018-09-28 Tom Cutter is a middle-aged sculptor who ekes a nominal living in New York City's art world. When an unexpected chance of a lifetime comes into his life and he begins developing a new artwork, he flashes back to being deaf in an all-boys prep school: the awakenings of his creativity and his first love. The past and present narratives diverge as he continues working on his commission, and his past becomes more relevant to the work he is creating. During the opening of the Cleveland exhibition, his artwork's deep significance is revealed with a surprising twist.The Clay Orchard is an alternatively lyrical and fast-paced novel that embraces the creative spirit of becoming an artist while navigating relationships in a rapidly-changing world. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Zen and the Brain James H. Austin, 1999-06-04 A neuroscientist and Zen practitioner interweaves the latest research on the brain with his personal narrative of Zen. Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the perennial philosophy. In the view of James Austin, the trend implies a perennial psychophysiology—because awakening, or enlightenment, occurs only when the human brain undergoes substantial changes. What are the peak experiences of enlightenment? How could these states profoundly enhance, and yet simplify, the workings of the brain? Zen and the Brain presents the latest evidence. In this book Zen Buddhism becomes the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand which brain mechanisms produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, both a neurologist and a Zen practitioner, interweaves the most recent brain research with the personal narrative of his Zen experiences. The science is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Financial Exclusion Robert E Wright, 2019-05-17 Like mass incarceration and slavery, financial exclusion, discrimination, and predation serve the interests of the few at the expense of their direct victims and overall economic efficiency. Yet those banes persist, evolve, and even thrive because governments often foster them with one hand while ineffectually combatting them with another. In Financial Exclusion, Robert E. Wright shows that America once ameliorated financial discrimination by leveraging the power of competition, allowing people who felt they were irrationally deprived of loans, insurance, or other financial services for reasons of ethnicity, gender, race, or religion to form their own financial institutions. Abandonment of that tradition for top-down government regulation in the 1990s led inevitably to the financial crisis of 2008. More regulation or direct government provision of financial services will not aid the those living in the hopeless, hungry side of town as much as a return to America's free market traditions will. Robert E. Wright has served Augustana University as the inaugural Nef Family Chair of Political Economy since 2009. After receiving his Ph.D. in economic history from SUNY Buffalo in 1997, Wright taught economics at the University of Virginia and New York University's Stern School of Business. His 18 previous books include Mutually Beneficial, The First Wall Street, Financial Founding Fathers, One Nation Under Debt, Bailouts, Fubarnomics, Corporation Nation, Little Business on the Prairie, and The Poverty of Slavery. |
| the moral animal by robert wright: Evolutionary Origins of Morality Leonard D. Katz, 2000 This volume includes four principal papers and a total of 43 peer commentaries on the evolutionary origins of morality. |
The Moral Animal: Why We Are The Way We Are Paperback
4 Apr 1996 · THE MORAL ANIMAL examines the significance of this extraordinary shift in our perception of morality and what it means to be human. Taking the life of Charles Darwin as his …
The Moral Animal - Wikipedia
The Moral Animal was a national bestseller and has been published in 12 languages; The New York Times Book Review chose it as one of its eleven Best Books of 1994. [1] ... Robert …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are - Goodreads
1 Jan 1994 · What Robert Wright sets out to do with The Moral Animal is to take Darwin's life and oeuvre (primarily The Origin of Species), frame them with two other important contemporary …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New …
29 Aug 1995 · Robert Wright gives answers to these and many more questions in the Moral Animal. This 466-page tome provides a thorough explanation of evolutionary psychology, and …
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright: 9780679763994 - Penguin …
About Robert Wright. Robert Wright is the bestselling author of Three Scientists and Their Gods, The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and, most recently, The Evolution of God, which was a finalist for …
The moral animal : the new science of evolutionary psychology : Wright …
18 Apr 2021 · The moral animal : the new science of evolutionary psychology Bookreader Item Preview ... Wright, Robert, 1957-Publication date 1994 Topics Evolutionary psychology, …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New …
3 Nov 2010 · The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology - Kindle edition by Wright, Robert. Download it once and read it on your Kindle …
The Moral Animal : Robert Wright : 9780349107042 : Blackwell's
4 Apr 1996 · THE MORAL ANIMAL examines the significance of this extraordinary shift in our perception of morality and what it means to be human. Taking the life of Charles Darwin as his …
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright - Penguin Books New …
29 Aug 1995 · The Moral Animal. Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology. Robert Wright; ... These are among the questions that have made …
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright - Penguin Random House …
Robert Wright is the bestselling author of Three Scientists and Their Gods, The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and, most recently, The Evolution of God, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are The Way We Are Paperback
4 Apr 1996 · THE MORAL ANIMAL examines the significance of this extraordinary shift in our perception of morality and what it means to be human. Taking the life of Charles Darwin as his …
The Moral Animal - Wikipedia
The Moral Animal was a national bestseller and has been published in 12 languages; The New York Times Book Review chose it as one of its eleven Best Books of 1994. [1] ... Robert …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are - Goodreads
1 Jan 1994 · What Robert Wright sets out to do with The Moral Animal is to take Darwin's life and oeuvre (primarily The Origin of Species), frame them with two other important contemporary …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New …
29 Aug 1995 · Robert Wright gives answers to these and many more questions in the Moral Animal. This 466-page tome provides a thorough explanation of evolutionary psychology, and …
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright: 9780679763994 - Penguin …
About Robert Wright. Robert Wright is the bestselling author of Three Scientists and Their Gods, The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and, most recently, The Evolution of God, which was a finalist for …
The moral animal : the new science of evolutionary psychology : Wright …
18 Apr 2021 · The moral animal : the new science of evolutionary psychology Bookreader Item Preview ... Wright, Robert, 1957-Publication date 1994 Topics Evolutionary psychology, …
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New …
3 Nov 2010 · The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology - Kindle edition by Wright, Robert. Download it once and read it on your Kindle …
The Moral Animal : Robert Wright : 9780349107042 : Blackwell's
4 Apr 1996 · THE MORAL ANIMAL examines the significance of this extraordinary shift in our perception of morality and what it means to be human. Taking the life of Charles Darwin as his …
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright - Penguin Books New …
29 Aug 1995 · The Moral Animal. Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology. Robert Wright; ... These are among the questions that have made …
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright - Penguin Random House …
Robert Wright is the bestselling author of Three Scientists and Their Gods, The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and, most recently, The Evolution of God, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. …
