Product Description

"Barash . . . brilliantly integrat[es] science, literature, and pop culture into elegant and insightful commentaries on the most interesting and important questions of our time. A delightful read."-Michael Shermer, author of The Science of Good and Evil

"Entertaining and thought-provoking."-Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate

If we are, in part, a product of our genes, can free will exist? Incisive and engaging, this indispensable tour of evolutionary biology runs the gamut of contemporary debates, from science and religion to our place in the universe.

David Barash is the author of The Myth of Monogamy and Madame Bovary's Ovaries. He lives in Redmond, Washington.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #402713 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
David Barash, professor of psychology at the University of Washington, is the author of over 20 books (among them Natural Selections, The Myth of Monogamy and Madame Bovary's Ovaries) and over 200 articles. One of the earliest proponents of "sociobiology" in the 1970s, now know as "evolutionary psychology" or "evolutionary biology," he remains among its most articulate popularizers.

Customer Reviews

A matter-of-fact accounting that does not excuse or justify immoral behavior
Professor of psychology and proponent of sociobiology David P. Barash presents Natural Selections, a matter-of-fact look at how human biology and evolution affect human behavior, and what this has to say about both practical and ethical dilemmas in today's world. Written in plain terms accessible to lay readers and an extra dollop of wit, Natural Selections discusses why human violence is an overwhelmingly male phenomenon (humans were almost certainly polygamous earlier in their evolution, which prompted physical strength and violent traits among males striving for domination), why something being "natural" is by no means a synonym for it being "good" (or "bad", for that matter), why racism remains a pervasive social problem (it benefits one's genes to favor one's kin-group, and those of a different race are clearly unlikely to belong to one's kin-group), and much more. A matter-of-fact accounting that does not excuse or justify immoral behavior, but rather seeks to understand its sociobiological origins, on the premise that science and knowledge of the problem's roots, not ignorance, are a necessary first ingredient to making the world a better place. Highly recommended.