Why the Reckless Survive-- and Other Secrets of Human Nature

1990 Fiction

Author : Melvin Konner
Release : 1990
Genre : Fiction
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

Book Synopsis Why the Reckless Survive-- and Other Secrets of Human Nature by : Melvin Konner

Download or read book Why the Reckless Survive-- and Other Secrets of Human Nature written by Melvin Konner. This book was released on 1990. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the issues and questions that are crucial to understanding the complexities of human nature.

Why Not Kill Them All?

2010-07-01 Social Science

Author : Daniel Chirot
Release : 2010-07-01
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 856/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Why Not Kill Them All? by : Daniel Chirot

Download or read book Why Not Kill Them All? written by Daniel Chirot. This book was released on 2010-07-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genocide, mass murder, massacres. The words themselves are chilling, evoking images of the slaughter of countless innocents. What dark impulses lurk in our minds that even today can justify the eradication of thousands and even millions of unarmed human beings caught in the crossfire of political, cultural, or ethnic hostilities? This question lies at the heart of Why Not Kill Them All? Cowritten by historical sociologist Daniel Chirot and psychologist Clark McCauley, the book goes beyond exploring the motives that have provided the psychological underpinnings for genocidal killings. It offers a historical and comparative context that adds up to a causal taxonomy of genocidal events. Rather than suggesting that such horrors are the product of abnormal or criminal minds, the authors emphasize the normality of these horrors: killing by category has occurred on every continent and in every century. But genocide is much less common than the imbalance of power that makes it possible. Throughout history human societies have developed techniques aimed at limiting intergroup violence. Incorporating ethnographic, historical, and current political evidence, this book examines the mechanisms of constraint that human societies have employed to temper partisan passions and reduce carnage. Might an understanding of these mechanisms lead the world of the twenty-first century away from mass murder? Why Not Kill Them All? makes clear that there are no simple solutions, but that progress is most likely to be made through a combination of international pressures, new institutions and laws, and education. If genocide is to become a grisly relic of the past, we must fully comprehend the complex history of violent conflict and the struggle between hatred and tolerance that is waged in the human heart. In a new preface, the authors discuss recent mass violence and reaffirm the importance of education and understanding in the prevention of future genocides.

Understanding Wisdom

2012-04-10 Religion

Author : Warren, Jr. Brown
Release : 2012-04-10
Genre : Religion
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 107/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Understanding Wisdom by : Warren, Jr. Brown

Download or read book Understanding Wisdom written by Warren, Jr. Brown. This book was released on 2012-04-10. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of wisdom is challenging and thought provoking. This volume sheds light on the age-old question: What is wisdom and where does it come from? Evidence of wisdom can be seen in both perception and performance, in sacred scriptures and in brain images. An eminent group of scholars from fields as diverse as theology, philosophy, medicine, biology, psychology, and linguistics were brought together to bring focus to this understudied area of scientific research. Editor Warren Brown presents his research on brain functioning, drawn from observing individuals with damage to specific neural areas, to suggest the importance of integration between hemispheres of the brain to comprehend complex situations in a way that may be termed “wise.” Diana Van Lancker also looks at hemispheres of the brain and explores studies that show that left brain functioning is related to prayers, chants, and sayings often used in religious practice. Wolfgang Mieder, recognized as the foremost scholar in the study of proverbs, explores the secular use of the biblical proverb of “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Matt. 12:25). R. E. Clements also looks to the book of Proverbs and focuses on its ultimate goal: virtue and wholeness.

Understanding Moral Sentiments

2017-09-08 Philosophy

Author : Hilary Putnam
Release : 2017-09-08
Genre : Philosophy
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 264/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Understanding Moral Sentiments by : Hilary Putnam

Download or read book Understanding Moral Sentiments written by Hilary Putnam. This book was released on 2017-09-08. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together leading scholars to examine Darwinian perspectives on morality from widely ranging disciplines: evolutionary biology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. They bring not only varied expertise, but also contrasting judgments about which, and to what extent, differing evolutionary accounts explain morality. They also consider the implications of these explanations for a range of religious and non-religious moral traditions. The book first surveys scientific understandings of morality. Chapters by Joan Silk and Christopher Boehm ask what primatology and anthropology tell us about moral origins. Daniel Batson and Stephen Pinker provide contrasting accounts of how evolution shapes moral psychology, and Jeffrey Schloss assesses a range of biological proposals for morality and altruism. Turning to philosophical issues, Martha Nussbaum argues that recognizing our animal nature does not threaten morality. Stephen Pope and Timothy Jackson explore how Darwinian accounts of moral goodness both enrich and require understandings outside the sciences. Hilary Putnam and Susan Neiman ask whether Darwin is truly useful for helping us to understand what morality actually is and how it functions. The book is a balanced effort to assess the scientific merits and philosophical significance of emerging Darwinian perspectives on morality.

Popular eBooks

Why the Reckless Survive-- and Other Secrets of Human Nature

Understanding Wisdom

Understanding Moral Sentiments

You may also like...