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Graybeard: A Chimpanzee Does Philosophy
When his religious upbringing was no longer tenable, J.D. Steens turned to philosophy to find a worldview that would work for him. The problem he ran into was that, while philosophy seemed divorced from science, science would have nothing to do with philosophy. In this book, J.D. Steens tries to tie these two approaches together by formulating a philosophical worldview that is based on science, or at least not inconsistent with it.
The voice for this perspective comes through Graybeard, a chimpanzee, whose namesake was David Graybeard, one of Jane Goodall’s first chimpanzee subjects. Upon their invitation, Graybeard shares his own ideas with Plato, Schopenhauer, Lao Tzu, Darwin, the Buddha, Einstein, and others, in a parallel universe setting.
In this book, Graybeard links the world of science (biology) and philosophy, in one fundamental way: Though an animal, he and humans (and all of life) are motivated by the same forces - the need to survive and the fear of not surviving. From this perspective, fundamental philosophical themes can be deduced.
This is the third book of Steens’ philosophical trilogy. The first was Philosophical Travels with Carl: Freedom in the Oregon Outback, and the second was Babu: A Philosophical Quest. Both are published on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
The voice for this perspective comes through Graybeard, a chimpanzee, whose namesake was David Graybeard, one of Jane Goodall’s first chimpanzee subjects. Upon their invitation, Graybeard shares his own ideas with Plato, Schopenhauer, Lao Tzu, Darwin, the Buddha, Einstein, and others, in a parallel universe setting.
In this book, Graybeard links the world of science (biology) and philosophy, in one fundamental way: Though an animal, he and humans (and all of life) are motivated by the same forces - the need to survive and the fear of not surviving. From this perspective, fundamental philosophical themes can be deduced.
This is the third book of Steens’ philosophical trilogy. The first was Philosophical Travels with Carl: Freedom in the Oregon Outback, and the second was Babu: A Philosophical Quest. Both are published on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
276 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2025
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About the author
J.D. Steens
3 books37 followersSteens grew up on a family farm in Michigan and is a graduate of Western Michigan University. After college, he was in Nepal for four years as a Peace Corps Volunteer working as an agriculture extension agent. Following Peace Corps, he went to to the University of Maryland, College Park and received a doctorate in political theory. After seven years on the staff of a U.S. Senator in Washington, DC, Steens moved to the the state of Washington and worked as as an environment and natural resource policy advisor for four successive governors.
In retirement, Steens renewed his life-long interest in connecting philosophy with biology and physics. While science sticks to facts and details, philosophy spells out narratives that are often inconsistent with science. Steens' philosophical trilogy ties philosophy, biology and physics (the role of energy) together under the concept of Schopenhauer's Will.
In retirement, Steens renewed his life-long interest in connecting philosophy with biology and physics. While science sticks to facts and details, philosophy spells out narratives that are often inconsistent with science. Steens' philosophical trilogy ties philosophy, biology and physics (the role of energy) together under the concept of Schopenhauer's Will.
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August 26, 2025
This third book of a philosophical trilogy is a charming and entertaining seminar by a learned (and talking) chimpanzee holding court among thinkers from throughout history. The chimpanzee is Graybeard, presumably inspired by David Greybeard, the chimpanzee who played a pivotal role in Jane Goodall’s primate research. The discussion reminds me of the TV program, Meeting of the Minds, from the 1970’s, in which Steve Allen interacted with an assortment of historical figures.
In the case of Graybeard, there are twenty personages, including ten philosophers (from Plato to Sartre), four religious figures (from Lao Tzu to Albert Schweitzer), scientists (from Darwin to Einstein), psychoanalysts (Freud and Jung) and the environmentalist Edward Abbey. They are there to hear what Graybeard has to say, and Graybeard interacts with them, pointing out commonalities or gently expressing disagreement.
The author is strongly Darwinian, and so a chimpanzee sage expresses his solidarity with the animal kingdom and with nature in general. As an old friend of the author, I know that he is a voracious reader and has digested the writing of the people mentioned. Sometimes the personages disagree among themselves, allowing Graybeard to resolve the differences.
The author is strongly impressed by Schopenhauer’s concept of Will, and Graybeard identifies that as the driving force of evolution. Rather than seeing evolution to be blind, Graybeard sees biological imperatives as providing a purpose for the universe, expressed in the will to be free. Graybeard’s philosophy is too complex to summarize, but I can raise the central dilemma and dynamic.
At one point the author has Hegel say to Graybeard, “You’ve made more than a few references to my ideas like the Absolute Idea and a notion of the dialectic. But the way you use them is very different from how I’ve used them. You’re taking liberties. You have done it with Nietzsche too. How does this work?”
Graybeard answers, “You know, the beauty of your work is that it stimulates me. It gives me a different perspective. I can read your work and talk about what you’ve said, or I can read it to inspire my own thinking. Maybe you and I see the same patterns out there, but you interpret them one way and I another.”
Graybeard gets strong philosophical reactions out of me, and he will provide a workout for any reader interested in the history of thought. J.D. Steens has found in Graybeard a way to describe his own development through reaction to the philosophical masters. Though the development of anyone’s thinking is highly individual, Graybeard offers a wonderful personification (or shall I say “chimpification”?) of the process for all to see.
In the case of Graybeard, there are twenty personages, including ten philosophers (from Plato to Sartre), four religious figures (from Lao Tzu to Albert Schweitzer), scientists (from Darwin to Einstein), psychoanalysts (Freud and Jung) and the environmentalist Edward Abbey. They are there to hear what Graybeard has to say, and Graybeard interacts with them, pointing out commonalities or gently expressing disagreement.
The author is strongly Darwinian, and so a chimpanzee sage expresses his solidarity with the animal kingdom and with nature in general. As an old friend of the author, I know that he is a voracious reader and has digested the writing of the people mentioned. Sometimes the personages disagree among themselves, allowing Graybeard to resolve the differences.
The author is strongly impressed by Schopenhauer’s concept of Will, and Graybeard identifies that as the driving force of evolution. Rather than seeing evolution to be blind, Graybeard sees biological imperatives as providing a purpose for the universe, expressed in the will to be free. Graybeard’s philosophy is too complex to summarize, but I can raise the central dilemma and dynamic.
At one point the author has Hegel say to Graybeard, “You’ve made more than a few references to my ideas like the Absolute Idea and a notion of the dialectic. But the way you use them is very different from how I’ve used them. You’re taking liberties. You have done it with Nietzsche too. How does this work?”
Graybeard answers, “You know, the beauty of your work is that it stimulates me. It gives me a different perspective. I can read your work and talk about what you’ve said, or I can read it to inspire my own thinking. Maybe you and I see the same patterns out there, but you interpret them one way and I another.”
Graybeard gets strong philosophical reactions out of me, and he will provide a workout for any reader interested in the history of thought. J.D. Steens has found in Graybeard a way to describe his own development through reaction to the philosophical masters. Though the development of anyone’s thinking is highly individual, Graybeard offers a wonderful personification (or shall I say “chimpification”?) of the process for all to see.
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