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Natural Selections: Selfish Altruists, Honest Liars, and Other Realities of Evolution
“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.
“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.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
3 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
David Philip Barash
45 books65 followersDavid P. Barash is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, and is notable for books on Human aggression, Peace Studies, and the sexual behavior of animals and people. He has written approximately 30 books in total. He received his bachelor's degree in biology from Harpur College, Binghamton University, and a Ph.D. in zoology from University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1970. He taught at the State University of New York at Oneonta, and then accepted a permanent position at the University of Washington.
His book Natural Selections: selfish altruists, honest liars and other realities of evolution is based on articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education and published in 2007 by Bellevue Literary Press. Immediately before that was Madame Bovary's Ovaries: a Darwinian look at literature, a popular but serious presentation of Darwinian literary criticism, jointly written with his daughter, Nanelle Rose Barash. He has also written over 230 scholarly articles and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with many other honors.
In 2008, a second edition of the textbook Peace and Conflict Studies co-authored with Charles P. Webel was published by Sage. In 2009, Columbia University Press published How Women Got Their Curves and Other Just-So Stories, a book on sex differentiation co-authored with Judith Eve Lipton. This was followed in 2010 by Strange Bedfellows: the surprising connection between sex, evolution and monogamy published by Bellevue Literary Press, and, in 2011, Payback: why we retaliate, redirect aggression and seek revenge, coauthored with Judith Eve Lipton and published by Oxford University Press. His book Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary puzzles of human nature appeared in 2012, also published by Oxford University Press, and in 2013, Sage published the 3rd edition of his text, Peace and Conflict Studies.
His book Natural Selections: selfish altruists, honest liars and other realities of evolution is based on articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education and published in 2007 by Bellevue Literary Press. Immediately before that was Madame Bovary's Ovaries: a Darwinian look at literature, a popular but serious presentation of Darwinian literary criticism, jointly written with his daughter, Nanelle Rose Barash. He has also written over 230 scholarly articles and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with many other honors.
In 2008, a second edition of the textbook Peace and Conflict Studies co-authored with Charles P. Webel was published by Sage. In 2009, Columbia University Press published How Women Got Their Curves and Other Just-So Stories, a book on sex differentiation co-authored with Judith Eve Lipton. This was followed in 2010 by Strange Bedfellows: the surprising connection between sex, evolution and monogamy published by Bellevue Literary Press, and, in 2011, Payback: why we retaliate, redirect aggression and seek revenge, coauthored with Judith Eve Lipton and published by Oxford University Press. His book Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary puzzles of human nature appeared in 2012, also published by Oxford University Press, and in 2013, Sage published the 3rd edition of his text, Peace and Conflict Studies.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 6, 2015
An excellent book, although somewhat difficult to characterize. I'm not sure if it was separate essays, or if the chapters really built upon each other toward some particular end: the chapters were certainly related, but there didn't seem to be a clear statement of what the hypothesis was; it was like there were several hypotheses or themes, which pointed in the same general direction. Not that it really mattered – the book was full of excellent ideas (and information).
Some of the ideas presented: We believe we are special, but we evolved through a purposeless process. We are imperfect beings, evidence that the process was not guided by some intelligent God. We are jerry-built, having evolved incrementally from antecedents. Certain traits don’t necessarily get eliminated because they no longer serve an evolutionary purpose, but only if they constitute a threat to survival of the species; the species survives if it has retained other traits that give it a survival advantage. Humans are not fully rational beings; rationality is bounded by what are brains were evolved to do. Things that are natural aren’t necessarily good for us; by example, “Viruses are natural; vaccines aren’t.”
The two main things I got out of the book. First, the gene is the basic unit of evolution, not the individual plant or animal. What persists is not bodies, but genes; bodies are just short-lived survival vehicles for the genes. I already know this, but it was presented clearly here, a powerful reminder.
Second, it had a chapter called “Evolutionary Existentialism. Despite the seeming contradiction, Barash explains how what how the evolution of human culture and of consciousness have allowed us to override our programmed genetic “instincts” (in the case of humans, most are genetic “influences”). For example, human nature had programmed us to be both violent and cooperative; it is our choices, individually and societally (which is ultimately shaped by individual choices of various sorts), that determine which path will be favored. In other words, evolved culture and consciousness give us the same ability to define our “meaning” and “purpose” by the choices we make, as that proposed by the existentialist philosophers; we can choose to let our biology rule us, or we can choose to say “No” as advocated by so many of the existentialist philosophers. As one who has been struck by the power of both existentialism and evolutionary psychology, this was a light going on for me.
Some of the ideas presented: We believe we are special, but we evolved through a purposeless process. We are imperfect beings, evidence that the process was not guided by some intelligent God. We are jerry-built, having evolved incrementally from antecedents. Certain traits don’t necessarily get eliminated because they no longer serve an evolutionary purpose, but only if they constitute a threat to survival of the species; the species survives if it has retained other traits that give it a survival advantage. Humans are not fully rational beings; rationality is bounded by what are brains were evolved to do. Things that are natural aren’t necessarily good for us; by example, “Viruses are natural; vaccines aren’t.”
The two main things I got out of the book. First, the gene is the basic unit of evolution, not the individual plant or animal. What persists is not bodies, but genes; bodies are just short-lived survival vehicles for the genes. I already know this, but it was presented clearly here, a powerful reminder.
Second, it had a chapter called “Evolutionary Existentialism. Despite the seeming contradiction, Barash explains how what how the evolution of human culture and of consciousness have allowed us to override our programmed genetic “instincts” (in the case of humans, most are genetic “influences”). For example, human nature had programmed us to be both violent and cooperative; it is our choices, individually and societally (which is ultimately shaped by individual choices of various sorts), that determine which path will be favored. In other words, evolved culture and consciousness give us the same ability to define our “meaning” and “purpose” by the choices we make, as that proposed by the existentialist philosophers; we can choose to let our biology rule us, or we can choose to say “No” as advocated by so many of the existentialist philosophers. As one who has been struck by the power of both existentialism and evolutionary psychology, this was a light going on for me.
September 8, 2017
Although he is clearly an evolutionist he does acknowledge other points of view throughout his book and isn't entirely critical of them. He acknowledges that religion shapes part of man's worldview and our perceived relationship with nature. He is better than the wholesale thrashing of a Dawkins or Hitchens. Clearly evolution is his filter of the world and through which he sees all things. I am always surprised by the use of the word programming by atheists in reference to our genes or DNA. If they are programmed who did the programming? DNA is clearly a code, biological software really. Who is the encoder? The author would say evolution. How did the initial upload begin? We just don't know enough about the origins of life yet to fully answer this is the imagined response. Probably with an optimism that we will someday know. Perhaps. What about the idea of a cosmic programmer? Preposterous! Is it really? When I see something programmed, I start looking for the programmer. Who is this genius who designed this system I ask? I suppose I can't help but ask, but maybe I'm just predisposed through my evolutionary makeup to ask this question...
September 8, 2017
Although he is clearly an evolutionist he does acknowledge other points of view throughout his book and isn't entirely critical of them. He acknowledges that religion shapes part of man's worldview and our perceived relationship with nature. He is better than the wholesale thrashing of a Dawkins or Hitchens. Clearly evolution is his filter of the world through which he sees all things. I am always surprised by the use of the word programming by atheists in reference to our genes and DNA. If they are programmed who did the programming? DNA is clearly a code, biological software really. Who is the encoder? The author would say evolution. How did the initial upload begin? We just don't know enough about the origins of life yet to fully answer this is the imagined response. Probably with an optimism that we will someday know. Perhaps. What about the idea of a cosmic programmer? Preposterous! Is it really? When I see something programmed, I start looking for the programmer. Who is this genius who designed this system I ask? I suppose I can't help but ask, but maybe I am just predisposed through my evolutionary makeup to ask this question...
March 29, 2024
Read it for the pleasure of a great lyric essay
February 7, 2008
"Dangerous David" on the wonderful complexities and conundrums of our evolutionary selves
By NATHAN IHARA
Barash's line of inquiry, like Richard Dawkins' or Steven Pinker's, does result in bracing and unsettling ideas. Through the lens of evolutionary psychology, we are forced to face our ancient self, that bestial creature that knows nothing of atomic bombs or jihad, marriage or MySpace, but still haunts our body, fuels our emotions and rules our lives — our genetic identity. For this single-minded creature, monogamy is a myth, free will is doubtful, and so-called altruism is merely a misguided attempt to protect people who might be carrying our genes. (Since humans once lived in small, closely related packs, protecting others made genetic sense.) In a recent article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Barash wrote about how electrocuted rats develop ulcers and swollen adrenal glands unless they are allowed to fight other "innocent" rats. In short: Random acts of violence are never actually random; we are merely obeying a million-year-old code of behavior, a code of displaced aggression that Barash finds in The Iliad, in Sweeney Todd and in our current war in Iraq. Barash's latest book, Natural Selections, published by Bellevue Literary Press (a small press run out of the oldest public hospital in the United States, Bellevue in Manhattan), seeks to follow the concepts of evolutionary psychology and sociobiology to their logical conclusions. "Many people claim to accept the tenets of evolution," he says, "but few actually look at where these premises lead."
I talked with Barash by phone about his book, his science and his philosophy:
L.A. WEEKLY: In Natural Selections, you suggest that our genes are almost like host-manipulating parasites (such as the lancet liver fluke that induces infected ants to cling to blades of grass until they are eaten by sheep — the fluke's preferred host).
DAVID P. BARASH: It's a challenge to our self-esteem to consider that we are porous to the outside, not to mention invaded on the inside by pathogens and parasites, and even by our "own" genes, which get us to behave in ways that serve their interests rather than our own — whatever "us" and "we" and "our" might be.
To what ends do you think culture should be willing to go to battle the more disturbing aspects of our genetic makeup? If we could genetically isolate the gene for violence, would you be in favor of altering it? Likewise, do you see the burgeoning market for neuro-pharmaceuticals as a way in which science might be addressing the regressive behaviors of our animal selves?
I'm skeptical about genetically modifying our seemingly "normal" behavior. It's part of what makes human beings human. But I'd be not only willing, but downright eager, to impose upon any particularly dangerous inclinations of world leaders with their fingers on "the button." If I could modify George W. Bush to make him smarter, wiser, more curious, less doctrinaire, more open to alternative views, and generally less thoughtless, selfish and destructive, I'd do it in a heartbeat!
Read the rest of Ihara's interview with Barash on LA Weekly's website: www.laweekly.com/art+books/
By NATHAN IHARA
Barash's line of inquiry, like Richard Dawkins' or Steven Pinker's, does result in bracing and unsettling ideas. Through the lens of evolutionary psychology, we are forced to face our ancient self, that bestial creature that knows nothing of atomic bombs or jihad, marriage or MySpace, but still haunts our body, fuels our emotions and rules our lives — our genetic identity. For this single-minded creature, monogamy is a myth, free will is doubtful, and so-called altruism is merely a misguided attempt to protect people who might be carrying our genes. (Since humans once lived in small, closely related packs, protecting others made genetic sense.) In a recent article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Barash wrote about how electrocuted rats develop ulcers and swollen adrenal glands unless they are allowed to fight other "innocent" rats. In short: Random acts of violence are never actually random; we are merely obeying a million-year-old code of behavior, a code of displaced aggression that Barash finds in The Iliad, in Sweeney Todd and in our current war in Iraq. Barash's latest book, Natural Selections, published by Bellevue Literary Press (a small press run out of the oldest public hospital in the United States, Bellevue in Manhattan), seeks to follow the concepts of evolutionary psychology and sociobiology to their logical conclusions. "Many people claim to accept the tenets of evolution," he says, "but few actually look at where these premises lead."
I talked with Barash by phone about his book, his science and his philosophy:
L.A. WEEKLY: In Natural Selections, you suggest that our genes are almost like host-manipulating parasites (such as the lancet liver fluke that induces infected ants to cling to blades of grass until they are eaten by sheep — the fluke's preferred host).
DAVID P. BARASH: It's a challenge to our self-esteem to consider that we are porous to the outside, not to mention invaded on the inside by pathogens and parasites, and even by our "own" genes, which get us to behave in ways that serve their interests rather than our own — whatever "us" and "we" and "our" might be.
To what ends do you think culture should be willing to go to battle the more disturbing aspects of our genetic makeup? If we could genetically isolate the gene for violence, would you be in favor of altering it? Likewise, do you see the burgeoning market for neuro-pharmaceuticals as a way in which science might be addressing the regressive behaviors of our animal selves?
I'm skeptical about genetically modifying our seemingly "normal" behavior. It's part of what makes human beings human. But I'd be not only willing, but downright eager, to impose upon any particularly dangerous inclinations of world leaders with their fingers on "the button." If I could modify George W. Bush to make him smarter, wiser, more curious, less doctrinaire, more open to alternative views, and generally less thoughtless, selfish and destructive, I'd do it in a heartbeat!
Read the rest of Ihara's interview with Barash on LA Weekly's website: www.laweekly.com/art+books/
December 23, 2012
What makes a dystopia, dystopian? Why is violence so male? Where is the core conflict of a human being?
David Barash tackles difficult themes and questions with a healthy dose of sociobiology, evolutionary history, and the entirety of human culture. His matter-of-fact tone and worldly examples add a layer of humanity to his ideas that rise above the dry descriptions of natural selection or gene flow. His style is playful and his examples--that sometimes draw on Descartes, Spongebob, or Darwin--break down big ideas into inviting, easy-to-digest chapters.
Underneath my chuckles and academic epiphanies, I noticed that Barash, like any good writer, built on his culminating theme (and even he thinks it's an arrogant doozy) by establishing small foundations in the earlier chapters. The best part is that he makes it easy. Early on he establishes that elephants are capable of ruining their own environments, and when he returns to the example at a later chapter about human pollution, I began to appreciate just how beastly we are, and part of our uniqueness is our scale of influence. The book reads like a cascade of bite-sized Dawkins' genius, landfalling into an ending that is very hit or miss, depending on your views of humanity, biology, and our future as a species.
This is a great gateway book, and Barash is an expert at sparking curiousity for the works and ideas he references along the way. I highly recommend this book if you seek to gain a deeper understanding about evolution. I finished it rather quickly, and now I'm left wanting more.
David Barash tackles difficult themes and questions with a healthy dose of sociobiology, evolutionary history, and the entirety of human culture. His matter-of-fact tone and worldly examples add a layer of humanity to his ideas that rise above the dry descriptions of natural selection or gene flow. His style is playful and his examples--that sometimes draw on Descartes, Spongebob, or Darwin--break down big ideas into inviting, easy-to-digest chapters.
Underneath my chuckles and academic epiphanies, I noticed that Barash, like any good writer, built on his culminating theme (and even he thinks it's an arrogant doozy) by establishing small foundations in the earlier chapters. The best part is that he makes it easy. Early on he establishes that elephants are capable of ruining their own environments, and when he returns to the example at a later chapter about human pollution, I began to appreciate just how beastly we are, and part of our uniqueness is our scale of influence. The book reads like a cascade of bite-sized Dawkins' genius, landfalling into an ending that is very hit or miss, depending on your views of humanity, biology, and our future as a species.
This is a great gateway book, and Barash is an expert at sparking curiousity for the works and ideas he references along the way. I highly recommend this book if you seek to gain a deeper understanding about evolution. I finished it rather quickly, and now I'm left wanting more.
October 27, 2014
As the debate between proponents of intelligent design and of evolution rages on, Barash demonstrates how natural selection can explain various aspects of the human experience. He tackles some of the harder questions, such as whether or not we have free will. He debunks the notion that humans are exceptions in the process of evolution. He takes on common arguments against evolution, such as the assertion that it's only a theory and that natural selection cannot create anything new. He addresses the fallacy behind the belief that all natural phenomena are good. Many attributes of human behavior, such as infanticide and racism, he proposes, may be wired into our genes. He muses on the relationship between culture and biology, considering, for example, why people keep pets.
July 9, 2015
I assumed, based on the title of this book, that it was about science. It is not. It is a dude having opinions. And Dudes Having Opinions (technically philosophy, I suppose) is my least favorite genre. Particularly when it is condescending and bombastic--even when directed at people with whom I most vehemently disagree, as Barash's supercilious opprobrium is, it is super not enjoyable. I bailed after 40 pages.
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January 31, 2008"It is not necessary for the whole of nature to take up arms to crush him: a puff of smoke, a drop of water, is enough to kill him. But even if the universe should crush him, man would still be more noble than that which destroys him, because he knows that he dies and he realizes the advantage which the universe possesses over him. The universe knows nothing of this."
April 29, 2009
Barash gives lots of good commentaries on how our genes really affect us versus the role society plays, on a variety of topics. Mix sociology, evolution, biology, psychology and human behavior all up in one but with a man with a fresh opinion who thinks for himself, with common sense and does good research and you have this book. It is great at times and kind of slow in other parts.
January 6, 2014
Very insightful and thought-provoking writing on many different topics in evolutionary biology and morality. Barash reused half of the text of this book in "Buddhist Biology"; I guess he wanted to rewrite it with Buddhism as an organizing principle.
October 30, 2017
Like Richard Dawkins, but more fun.
May 29, 2010
Dave Barash is a super entertaining writer. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who aren't just nerdy scientists.
August 24, 2012
Game changer
January 12, 2013
Simply...brilliant!!!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews