The whisperings within [Hardcover]

The Whisperings Within

Barash, David P.

Harper&Row

Argues that human nature is responsible for the danger of nuclear war, looks at national paranoia, propaganda, and deterrence, and suggests changes in the ways we think about the future

The Caveman and the Bomb: Human Nature, Evolution, and Nuclear War

Politics & Social Sciences

Lipton, Judith Eve

Philosophy

McGraw=Hill

Unique in both scope and organization, this book presents an intriguing yet challenging introduction to the world's great ideas concerning the nature of human nature — with a sampling of different approaches. The selections are drawn from religious writings, academic treatises, nonfiction, fiction, etc. — enabling readers to encounter the great thinkers through their own words. Organizes selections into intellectually coherent topics— Religious/Mythic Views, The Mind, The Social Setting, The Human Animal? — and then subtopics — e.g., The Role of Reason, The Limits of Reason, People Are Basically Nasty, People Are Basically Good, Animals as “Human,” and Vice Versa, Sex and Gender, etc.

Ideas of Human Nature: From the Bhagavad Gita to Sociobiology

Pearson

A zoologist uses case studies of human and animal behavior to support his argument that many aspects of human sexual behavior, parenting, kinship patterns, aggression, altruism, and racism have their roots in evolutionary adaptations made by man's ancestors

Whisperings Within

Biographies & Memoirs

Penguin??Books

A BOOK INTENDED FOR THE INTELLIGENT LAYPERSON, 'THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE' PRESENTS A NEW WAY OF THINKING ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS AND THEIR PLACE IN THE WORLD, DEVELOPING THE THESIS THAT MOST OF OUR CURRENT PROBLEMS ARE DUE TO THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RAPIDLY MOVING CULTURE (THE HARE) AND SLOW MOVING BIOLOGY (THE TORTOISE). FOLLOWING A DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, BARASH SHOWS HOW THE PARADIGM OF BIOLOGY/CULTURE CONFLICT ILLUMINATES CURRENT ISSUES RELATED TO SEX, FEMINISM AND SEXISM, FAMILY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION, AGGRESSION; THE NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, POPULATION ENVIRONMENTAL ABUSE AND ALIENATION. IN MAKING THIS ARGUMENTS BARASH RANGES WIDELY FROM EARLY JAWLESS FISH TO THE WORK OF BARBARA EHRENREICH, FROM THE SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR OF CHIMPANZEES TO THE ABUSE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.'THE HARE &amp; THE TORTOISE'ABUNDANTLY ILLUSTRATED WITH EXAMPLES FROM HISTORY, CURRENT EVENTS &amp; THE LIVES OF ANIMALS, IS A COMPELLING AND HIGHLY READABLE EXAMINA- TION OF THE COMPLEX INTERPLAY BETWEEN CULTURAL BEHAVOIOUR AMD TRADITION.

The Hare and the Tortoise: Culture, Biology, and Human Nature

Science & Math

"It's a rare author who can combine literary erudition and an easy fluency of style together with expert knowledge of psychology and evolutionary biology. David Barash adds to all this a far-seeing wisdom and a humane decency that shines through on every page. The concluding section on the senseless and dangerous futility of nuclear deterrence theory is an irrefutable tour de force which should be read by every politician and senior military officer. If only!" -- Richard Dawkins From hurricanes and avalanches to diseases and car crashes, threats are everywhere. Beyond objective threats like these, there are also subjective ones: situations in which individuals threaten each other or feel threatened by society. Animals, too, make substantial use of threats. Evolution manipulates threats like these in surprising ways, leading us to question the ethics of honest versus dishonest communication. Rarely acknowledged--and yet crucially important--is the fact that humans, animals, and even plants don't only employ threats, they often respond with counter-threats that ultimately make things worse. By exploring the dynamic of threat and counter-threat, this book expands on many fraught human situations, including the fear of death, of strangers, and of "the other." Each of these leads to unique challenges, such as the specter of eternal damnation, the murderous culture of guns and capital punishment, and the emergence of right-wing nationalist populism. Most worrisome is the illusory security of deterrence, the idea that we can use the threat of nuclear war to prevent nuclear war! Threats are so widespread that we often don't realize how deeply they are ingrained in our minds or how profoundly and counter-productively they operate. Animals, humans, societies, and even countries internalize threats, behind which lie a myriad of intriguing questions: How do we know when to take a threat seriously? When do threats make things worse? Can they make things better? What can we do to use them wisely rather than destructively? In a comprehensive exploration into questions like these, noted scientist David P. Barash explains some of the most important characteristics of life as we know it.

Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

Oxford University Press

In this changing world of what is socially and politically "correct," polygamy is perhaps the last great taboo. Over the last thousand years, monogamy - at least in name - has been the default setting for coupledom and procreation in the Western world. And yet, throughout history, there have been inklings that "one-man, one-woman" is an uncomfortable institution for human beings. The consistently high rate of marital "cheating" by both sexes, plus the persistent interest in a variety of sexual partners - on the part of women as well as men - suggest strongly that monogamy isn't easy, and certainly isn't "natural," for either sex. Esteemed writer and evolutionary biologist David P. Barash tackles this uncomfortable finding: that humans are actually biologically and anthropologically inclined toward polygamy. Drawing on decades of research, Barash presents a remarkable array of scientific evidence from evolutionary biology and cross-cultural studies that guide the reader through the hidden impacts of polygamy on such crucial behavior as violence, parenting, sexual preferences, adultery and efforts at monogamy itself, along with mind-bending speculation about the possible role of our polygamous predisposition when it comes to human genius, homosexuality and even monotheism. But take heart, monogamists! Although our species has long been "out of Eden," this fascinating read is ultimately reassuring that "biology is not destiny."

Out of Eden: The Surprising Consequences of Polygamy

Approaches to Peace: A Reader in Peace Studies, Fourth Edition, provides a unique and interdisciplinary sampling of key articles focusing on the diverse facets of peace and conflict studies. Featuring both classic and contemporary work, it enables students to read highly influential articles while also introducing them to the most current perspectives in the field. Timeless classics from Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau are included alongside contemporary pieces by illustrious contributors including Noam Chomsky, bell hooks, Vandana Shiva, and Pope Francis.

Approaches to Peace

Politics & Government

Human beings have long seen themselves as the center of the universe, the apple of God's eye, specially-created creatures who are somehow above and beyond the natural world. This viewpoint--a persistent paradigm of our own unique self-importance--is as dangerous as it is false. In Through a Glass Brightly, noted scientist David P. Barash explores the process by which science has, throughout time, cut humanity "down to size," and how humanity has responded. A good paradigm is a tough thing to lose, especially when its replacement leaves us feeling more vulnerable and less special. And yet, as science has progressed, we find ourselves--like it or not--bereft of many of our most cherished beliefs, confronting an array of paradigms lost. Barash models his argument around a set of "old" and "new" paradigms that define humanity's place in the universe. This new set of paradigms range from provocative revelations as to whether human beings are well designed, whether the universe has somehow been established with our species in mind (the so-called anthropic principle), whether life itself is inherently fragile, and whether Homo sapiens might someday be genetically combined with other species (and what that would mean for our self-image). Rather than seeing ourselves through a glass darkly, science enables us to perceive our strengths and weaknesses brightly and accurately at last, so that paradigms lost becomes wisdom gained. The result is a bracing, remarkably hopeful view of who we really are.

Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are

Many high-profile public intellectuals -- including "New Atheists" like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and the late Christopher Hitchens -- have argued that religion and science are deeply antagonistic, representing two world views that are utterly incompatible. David Barash, a renowned biologist with forty years of experience, largely agrees with them, but with one very big exception: Buddhism. In this fascinating book, David Barash highlights the intriguing common ground between scientific and religious thought, illuminating the many parallels between biology and Buddhism, allowing readers to see both in a new way. Indeed, he shows that there are numerous places where Buddhist and biological perspectives coincide and reinforce each other. For instance, the cornerstone ecological concept -- the interconnectedness and interdependence of all natural things -- is remarkably similar to the fundamental insight of Buddhism. Indeed, a major Buddhist text, the Avatamsaka Sutra, which consists of ten insights into the "interpenetration" between beings and their environment, could well have been written by a trained ecologist, just as current insights in evolutionary biology, genetics and development might have been authored by the Buddha himself. Barash underscores other notable similarities, including a shared distrust of simple cause-and-effect analysis, an appreciation of the "rightness" of nature, along with an acknowledgment of the suffering that results when natural processes are tampered with. Buddhist Biology shows how the concept of "non-self," so confusing to many Westerners, is fully consistent with modern biology, as is the Buddhist perspective of "impermanence." Barash both demystifies and celebrates the biology of Buddhism and vice versa, showing in a concluding tour-de-force how modern Buddhism --shorn of its hocus-pocus and abracadabra -- not only justifies but actually mandates both socially and environmentally "engaged" thought and practice. Buddhist Biology is a work of unique intellectual synthesis that sheds astonishing light on biology as well as on Buddhism, highlighting the remarkable ways these two perspectives come together, like powerful searchlights that offer complementary and stunning perspectives on the world and our place in it.

Buddhist Biology: Ancient Eastern Wisdom Meets Modern Western Science

Religion & Spirituality

Buddhism

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