The moral animal : evolutionary psychology and everyday life

One of The Most Excellent and Important Books Ever

The Moral Animal, written in 1994 - the year I was born - reads with a level of pertinence that is ahead of its time. It should be and is a staple of Evolutionary Psychology. Matter of fact, because of the very [big picture] incipient nature of the field, it is a must read if you are especially interested in (I'm trying to hold back my temptation of saying everything) evolution and darwinism, morality, psychology, and behavioral science. What is evolutionary psychology? I will be brief but read the book to REALLY understand it. The field of evolutionary psychology attempts to explain human (and animal) behavior within the framework of our prior and ongoing evolution. With precision and clarity, the author Robert Wright applies the modern day understanding of evolution to understand our underlying motivations behind our actions and emotions. In four parts, and many chapters in between, the author covers really intuitive topics like sex, romance, love, family, friends, marriage, deception, self-deception, monogamy and polygamy, social status, and more. The last section of the book wraps it all together and covers the implications it can and cannot have on our behavior as well as our thinking of morality, law, and morale. Throughout the entire book, evolutionary psychological thinking is applied to the founder of evolution himself, Charles Darwin. Interestingly enough, we uncover on a deeper level the so called "selfish" motives and social advantages behind Darwin's behavior. This is not to deny the apparent facts of the matter that Darwin was one of the most selfless, generous, and polite human-beings to ever live. On any test of morality, even compared to the Victorian aura of his time, he would get an A+. His hyperactive conscious for example, made him have restless nights as he was plagued by the idea he might have said something that offended somebody in one of the conversations he had with people throughout the day. It made him dread the indignity he witnessed...