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Human Nature
Conventional wisdom holds that the murder rate has plummeted since the Middle Ages; humankind is growing more peaceful and enlightened; man is shortly to be much improved—better genes, better neural circuits, better biochemistry; and we are approaching a technological singularity that well may usher in utopia. Human Nature eviscerates these and other doctrines of a contemporary nihilism masquerading as science. In this wide-ranging work polymath David Berlinski draws upon history, mathematics, logic, and literature to retrain our gaze on an old truth many are eager to forget: there is and will be about the human condition beauty, nobility, and moments of sublime insight, yes, but also ignorance and depravity. Men are not about to become like gods.
330 pages, Paperback
Published November 11, 2019
97 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
David Berlinski
34 books269 followersDavid Berlinski is a senior fellow in the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture.
Recent articles by Berlinski have been prominently featured in Commentary, Forbes ASAP, and the Boston Review. Two of his articles, “On the Origins of the Mind” (November 2004) and “What Brings a World into Being” (March 2001), have been anthologized in The Best American Science Writing 2005, edited by Alan Lightman (Harper Perennial), and The Best American Science Writing 2002, edited by Jesse Cohen, respectively.
Berlinski received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and was later a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. He has authored works on systems analysis, differential topology, theoretical biology, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of mathematics, as well as three novels. He has also taught philosophy, mathematics and English at Stanford, Rutgers, the City University of New York and the Université de Paris. In addition, he has held research fellowships at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. He lives in Paris.
Recent articles by Berlinski have been prominently featured in Commentary, Forbes ASAP, and the Boston Review. Two of his articles, “On the Origins of the Mind” (November 2004) and “What Brings a World into Being” (March 2001), have been anthologized in The Best American Science Writing 2005, edited by Alan Lightman (Harper Perennial), and The Best American Science Writing 2002, edited by Jesse Cohen, respectively.
Berlinski received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and was later a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. He has authored works on systems analysis, differential topology, theoretical biology, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of mathematics, as well as three novels. He has also taught philosophy, mathematics and English at Stanford, Rutgers, the City University of New York and the Université de Paris. In addition, he has held research fellowships at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. He lives in Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 30, 2019
I just finished reading Berlinski's new book Human Nature. It is both interesting and disappointing... Well "disappointing" because not so "new" as I quickly realized that most of the content was drawn from previously published articles... Yet despite this fact this book has still plenty of interesting material as well as some quips by B that are real gems (and some that are brutal)... The first chapter offers an grim autopsy of the rosy, over-optimistic Enlightenment concept of Progress, inevitably leading us on to a wonderful, peaceful, tolerant world... A chapter discussing the relativism of the postmodern scholar Stanley Fish was well worth it. While portraying various personalities he has encountered, clearly Berlinski himself appears, in cosmological terms, to be somewhat of a "singularity"... Mercifully (for me) this book has little math, I was surprised with Berlinski's knowledge of linguistics. In chap 12 B punctures Strong AI mythology and the strong illusions of the augmented cybernetic man (who may turn out to be nothing more than a slave). While Berlinski remains rather coy about his own present belief system here, one chapter containing an erotic meditation by B seemed rather pointless. What was B attempting to prove? Had it been left out, B's book would not have suffered for it...
Berlinski is of course a secular Jew who at times appears somewhat confused in his own belief system (or just coy) but the interesting thing about him is that his is a restless mind, a mind that has the courage to give voice to questions that many other intellectuals may have bumped into or briefly thought about, but NEVER dared publish... Thus Berlinski has demonstrated the courage to peek behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz’ throne room and call into question some of the BIG IDEAS that have come to dominate the ideological landscape of the 21st century postmodern West... That, in itself, is something.
Berlinski is of course a secular Jew who at times appears somewhat confused in his own belief system (or just coy) but the interesting thing about him is that his is a restless mind, a mind that has the courage to give voice to questions that many other intellectuals may have bumped into or briefly thought about, but NEVER dared publish... Thus Berlinski has demonstrated the courage to peek behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz’ throne room and call into question some of the BIG IDEAS that have come to dominate the ideological landscape of the 21st century postmodern West... That, in itself, is something.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2020
Simultaneously clever and tedious, go figure
This book has some of the most clever and punchy sentences I have read. But it also has passages where the reader drags himself through a Gobi desert, a trackless waste, dying for a drop of liquid refreshment and wondering if there is an end.
Why it is entitled, “Human Nature,” is Boone me, because it is a pile of unrelated essays.
This book has some of the most clever and punchy sentences I have read. But it also has passages where the reader drags himself through a Gobi desert, a trackless waste, dying for a drop of liquid refreshment and wondering if there is an end.
Why it is entitled, “Human Nature,” is Boone me, because it is a pile of unrelated essays.
December 20, 2022
4.75!
Pros:
If you want to see the biggest single influence on my academic writing style, look no further than Dr. David Berlinski! He uses words like “animadversion” and “imbroglio,” weaves in narratives about contrary Rabbis and forbidden trunks and being propositioned in Prague, and then mentions Richard Dawkins and belly button fuzz in the same sentence.
I’d never thought about the categories of necessary vs. contingent truth but doing so has been a wellspring for me intellectually and frankly spiritually—very Romans 14:1-5
He recounted the story of Héloïse and Abélard and concluded that the logician is in conflict with lover in every person (EXCEPT, I would argue, in Jesus—see John 1:14 and 1 John 4:8) which was an interesting description of human beings’ often conflicting predilections
One BIG question I felt pressing through the pages of this book was: Is there A Text behind/beyond the text? Not a subtext but a Supratext—a meta narrative so to speak? I would say yes, ofc. God is working together all the things Romans 8:28/Phil 2:5-11–not sure what Dr. B thinks. He keeps his personal beliefs close to the chest and obscured by his pen.
He had a great line about his time teaching where he said his students gave off “heat but no light” and I could not separate that from Joyce’s description of hellfire in Portrait of The Artist. Not sure if he meant to say his time teaching at the school was purgatorial but it made me grin to think he did.
Cons:
Formal logic notations had me 😵💫😵💫😵💫
The discussion of COMP deletion in language also went WAY over my head. I wish I’d paid more attention during grammar lessons in Ms. O’Malley’s class! That being said, he included a line from GK Chesterton in that chapter which was a salve to my soul and ego 😅 “As all stars shrivel in the single sun, the words are many, but The Word is one.” THAT I understood.
Favorite quote:
“If truth is of the essence, there is no point in talking of tastes.”
Pros:
If you want to see the biggest single influence on my academic writing style, look no further than Dr. David Berlinski! He uses words like “animadversion” and “imbroglio,” weaves in narratives about contrary Rabbis and forbidden trunks and being propositioned in Prague, and then mentions Richard Dawkins and belly button fuzz in the same sentence.
I’d never thought about the categories of necessary vs. contingent truth but doing so has been a wellspring for me intellectually and frankly spiritually—very Romans 14:1-5
He recounted the story of Héloïse and Abélard and concluded that the logician is in conflict with lover in every person (EXCEPT, I would argue, in Jesus—see John 1:14 and 1 John 4:8) which was an interesting description of human beings’ often conflicting predilections
One BIG question I felt pressing through the pages of this book was: Is there A Text behind/beyond the text? Not a subtext but a Supratext—a meta narrative so to speak? I would say yes, ofc. God is working together all the things Romans 8:28/Phil 2:5-11–not sure what Dr. B thinks. He keeps his personal beliefs close to the chest and obscured by his pen.
He had a great line about his time teaching where he said his students gave off “heat but no light” and I could not separate that from Joyce’s description of hellfire in Portrait of The Artist. Not sure if he meant to say his time teaching at the school was purgatorial but it made me grin to think he did.
Cons:
Formal logic notations had me 😵💫😵💫😵💫
The discussion of COMP deletion in language also went WAY over my head. I wish I’d paid more attention during grammar lessons in Ms. O’Malley’s class! That being said, he included a line from GK Chesterton in that chapter which was a salve to my soul and ego 😅 “As all stars shrivel in the single sun, the words are many, but The Word is one.” THAT I understood.
Favorite quote:
“If truth is of the essence, there is no point in talking of tastes.”
January 4, 2020
Omnivorous. Affirming.
Collection of essays from various points in Berlinski’s career (some new) loosely connected by the only real common thread among them: Berlinski himself; though mathematics, philosophy, historiography, linguistics, poetry, narrative, biology, even theology—all as counter punches—suffuse throughout. Maybe that’s the same thing as saying “Berlinski .”
Collection of essays from various points in Berlinski’s career (some new) loosely connected by the only real common thread among them: Berlinski himself; though mathematics, philosophy, historiography, linguistics, poetry, narrative, biology, even theology—all as counter punches—suffuse throughout. Maybe that’s the same thing as saying “Berlinski .”
January 11, 2020
I love Berlinski's writing. It is never dull. However, some chapters are difficult to trudge through, as they contain a lot of equations. Regardless, this masterpiece presents a sort of mental image, a sense, or a feeling that defines human nature. At times it seems disorganized or pointless, but nothing is unintentional about Mr. Berlinski's writing.
My favorite little nuggets, in particular, are his little short stories dropped here and there. He is a very good story-teller.
A tip for the chapters in French: Google translate app. Just point your phone at the page (in good light) and it will overlay the translation. Alternatively, you can learn French.
My favorite little nuggets, in particular, are his little short stories dropped here and there. He is a very good story-teller.
A tip for the chapters in French: Google translate app. Just point your phone at the page (in good light) and it will overlay the translation. Alternatively, you can learn French.
July 19, 2020
I was expecting to read something about human nature from the religious perspective, but the book disappointed me. It is about anything but human nature. From WW1 to Postmodernism and from Darwin to Noam Chomsky, it is so wildly varied that I have failed to find a common theme. Having said that, like his other book ‘The devils delusion’ was an attempt to debunk the ‘The God Delusion’, this one might be his rebuttal of the ‘The better angel of human nature’ by Steven Pinker.
Contrary to the popular notion that humans are increasingly becoming more and more peaceful in the post reformation era, author thinks that the opposite is actually true, ie, people were more peaceful in the medieval Christian world. Author believes that men are inherently evil and it’s the God and its imposed morality that keeps us from doing immoral things. But, since the death of God, ie, 19th century or so, people are becoming more violent and ceaselessly waging war on each other, resulting in an unprecedented bloodshed and terror. The author provides a huge list of atrocities perpetrated during the last century alone.
But the book doesn’t strike me as intellectually honest. Conclusions are derived without proper analysis. Also the author is a definite creationist under a guise of secular rationalist. He expresses his rage against the authors that vilifies monotheism – Steven Pinker, Nicholas Christaik, Richard Dawkins, Yuval Harari, and the like. His arguments against determinism, evolution, evolutionary psychology and other well established scientific views are absolutely baseless. As I said earlier, a disappointing book.
Contrary to the popular notion that humans are increasingly becoming more and more peaceful in the post reformation era, author thinks that the opposite is actually true, ie, people were more peaceful in the medieval Christian world. Author believes that men are inherently evil and it’s the God and its imposed morality that keeps us from doing immoral things. But, since the death of God, ie, 19th century or so, people are becoming more violent and ceaselessly waging war on each other, resulting in an unprecedented bloodshed and terror. The author provides a huge list of atrocities perpetrated during the last century alone.
But the book doesn’t strike me as intellectually honest. Conclusions are derived without proper analysis. Also the author is a definite creationist under a guise of secular rationalist. He expresses his rage against the authors that vilifies monotheism – Steven Pinker, Nicholas Christaik, Richard Dawkins, Yuval Harari, and the like. His arguments against determinism, evolution, evolutionary psychology and other well established scientific views are absolutely baseless. As I said earlier, a disappointing book.
October 4, 2025
I was under the impression that David Berlinski's book Human Nature would examine this issue. The book is composed of different stories that are not tied together. He begins the book by discussing the origins of World War 1. But he does not draw any conclusions that relate to the topic of human nature. For example, are leaders as corrupt today as they were in 1914? Are people as narcissistic today as they were at the turn of the century? Berlinski explains the origins of World War 1 and then moves on without relating it to the topic of human nature. Berlinski discusses Hilbert space and the concept of a infinite hotel. He then moves on and examines the life of Christopher Hitchens. Berlinski jumps ship and spends a lot of time discussing Chomsky and linguistics. Berlinski spends too much time on the topic and any momentum the book has comes to a screeching halt. Berlinski talks aimlessly about Prague and there are two interviews; the first for Le Figaro which is all in French. The book is riddled with French and German phrases which are not translated for the English reader. Overall, each section of the book are fragments that are unrelated to each other and have no bearing on "human nature". Don't bother with this book.
March 19, 2021
contra positions from a true non comformist
as berlinski says, he doesn't really have much in the way of positive beliefa about reality
he has math, and a keen and intolerant eye for the absurd and illogical
also a flair for the atmospheric descriptions of his various posts
this sense of atmosphere travels from the geographical to the social and mental, and he can pick out when an idea has lost its way
he also knows the horrors inflicted when people take the absurd and follow through in real life
as berlinski says, he doesn't really have much in the way of positive beliefa about reality
he has math, and a keen and intolerant eye for the absurd and illogical
also a flair for the atmospheric descriptions of his various posts
this sense of atmosphere travels from the geographical to the social and mental, and he can pick out when an idea has lost its way
he also knows the horrors inflicted when people take the absurd and follow through in real life
September 30, 2021
I’m uncertain how much I learned from this book, but I am certain the author is brilliant. One chapter is completely in French. I did not read that chapter. But for feeling so inferior to a book, I certainly enjoyed it.
August 15, 2023
"The handful of differential parameters by which men are separated are more noticeable than the great universal principles by which men come to recognize one another as men - but they are less important. Languages, too."
November 24, 2019
Berlinski confronts commonly held "scientific" and "sociological" beliefs, and gleefully seeks to expose popularly held theories in academia as found wanting. Much of it is above my pay grade.
February 5, 2020
Berlinski is brilliant...mathematics, science, philosophy and writing! Particularly delightful was his destruction of Noah Yuval Harari.
February 10, 2021
Always love Berlinskis prose and wit, fantastic read.
August 25, 2021
Human nature
I found this book confusing and hard to follow, but maybe that was the idea. After all who here can claim that they understand human nature.
I found this book confusing and hard to follow, but maybe that was the idea. After all who here can claim that they understand human nature.
November 2, 2021
This book does a great job of taking materialistic, scientific optimism (naivete) to task. Sadly, Berlinski has nothing hopeful to offer in its place.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews