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De Bonobo En De Tien Geboden (2013)

by Frans de Waal(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

9025438636 (ISBN13: 9789025438630)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Uitgeverij Atlas

review 1: Professor de Waal cites a number of studies to back up his points, but what I'll remember are the stories of bonobos and chimpanzees taking very "human" actions. The author is the Ronald Reagan of primatology, emphasizing his points with anecdotal evidence that is much more convincing that the much drier study reports. He has reached the conclusion that apes have evolved behavior that comes close to looking like morality. From there he posits that morality is based on biology rather than culture and therefore morality predates religion. However, he also suggests that humanity has also evolved a predisposition to religion, but is untroubled by the possibility of a chicken or egg situation. He has decided that religions incorporated already existing morality, rather tha... moren imposing morality on its followers. This non-traditional way of looking at the relationship between religion and morality is worth pondering whether one is an atheist or a bonobo.
review 2: Frans De Waal is the most detestable man. That is what I took from this book full of petty grievances from decades ago. I wanted to find support for the biological evolution of morals however since his other rants against science are so full of cherry picking, I find I can't trust this either and I want to believe. I spent the book armchair psychoanalysing, switching between whether I was reading a complete mental breakdown a la Charlie Sheen or a deliberate emotional manipulation where he plays dumb to get people riled up and to seek negative attention. This book was awful and where informative it was untrustworthy but it was entertaining, if you rubberneck wrecks. less

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