ثمة علاقة وثيقة بين سلوكياتنا التي تدير حياتنا وبين السلوكيات التي تبديها بعض الأنواع الحيوانية، يحاول المؤلف أن يؤكد أن هناك مرجعية غريزية تحرك السلوك الحيواني، والذي تطور بدوره في صورة سلوك بشري يتسم بالرقي، فالسلوك نتاج عمليات عصبية معقدة.وأدمغة البشر بما فيها من عمليات عصبية، نتاج تطور متسلسل عبر أزمنة طويلة، لذا يمكن القول بأن أصولنا السلوكية البشرية لا تنفصل عن السلوكيات الحيوانية.يحاول المؤلف أن يبرهن بأن الأفكار والثقافة واللغة المنطوقة، نتاج تطور بيولوجي معقد، به العديد من الحلقات المفقودة..
This was an awfully dry read, but I think there is the germ of a decent book in here. Goldsmith generally argues the foundational points concerning a biological basis for human psychology while steering away from positing that biology is solely responsible for complex behavior.
I think the book could have benefited from more illustrative examples throughout, and the last chapter, primarily a critique of anthropologist Marvin Harris' ideas and their pertinence to Goldsmith's theory, seems out of place. This chapter didn't hold up well, and the main ideas and criticisms could have been incorporated elsewhere throughout the book.
Additionally, the second and third chapters concern popular misconceptions and historical shifts in evolutionary theory. I would have rather Goldsmith had assumed the reader came to this book with that knowledge and moved along into his main argument more rapidly.
Still, I'll probably revisit this book to glean the core ideas, but will skip large portions at that time.
اكثر ما يلفت الانتباه هو ان الكتاب دون ان يقصد يدفعك لانكار الفلسفة و علم النفس كحكم على الانسان و اظهارها كخرافات منمقه و ايضا الجبرية التي تجعلك تنظر للفلسفة كهراء تام.
I am the translator of the book: Muhammad Shahat, with my late friend Dr. Nazem Mahrous. With the permission of the author and the publishing house, the book was published in 2009 within the publications of the Egyptian General Book Organization, the second thousand book series. The book was reprinted many times, and copies of the book ran out quickly, in a way I did not expect. The book is a modest attempt by the author to prove that human behavior carries in its content a Darwinian evolutionary history in a clear and unambiguous manner. The book is far from jargon, as some have claimed. But the reader has the right to criticize what he reads, and this is not a destructive criticism, but a constructive and good criticism. Thank you all, my friends.
“much of what is referred to as human nature is understandable as a consequence of the evolution of a long-lived, slowly developing, resource-requiring, mildly polygynous social primate that also happens to be highly intelligent.”
I found it quite fascinating and informative but be informed, it’s not an “easy” read.
Excellent book, pity about the cover. This book, written by a Yale professor who was kind enough to let me work with him, was the first to really get me thinking about this topic.