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The Bonobo And The Atheist: In Search Of Humanism Among The Primates (2013)

by Frans de Waal(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0393073777 (ISBN13: 9780393073775)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: It is certainly a great book in terms of animal behavior and about the quest to find the scientific basis of morality. I really enjoyed the first-hand experiences de Waal delivers, as well as the examples from the field about the relationships between the primates and even some elephants, dogs, etc. It is not up to me to criticize his knowledge in the field of ethology.However... I am shocked by how naive he is and how much information and insight he lacks about atheism debates. He is so unfamiliar or simply uninterested about these debates that he can ask "I understand why religious people try to spread their religion, but why does atheists debate against religious people? For what they do this?" Seriously? Is this de Waal's vision about atheism and theism debates? Should... more not having an imaginary friend prevent us from fighting against the modern day religious crusades against secularism, education, science? I think de Waal sits too much in his office with his cute and very interesting chimpanzees, that he forgot why atheists are angry about religious right and their actions, as well as simply religious people who claim we will burn in hell since we do not agree with them. Also, de Waal deeply disappointed me when he said that we really need something to fill the space that removing religion creates and this simply cannot be done. Are you sure? He presents no evidence for his claim, other than demonizing communism trials in the past. Can the terrible outcomes of communism be because of the dictators of those countries, rather than the communism itself or removal of religion? I don't want to go into the topic of politics; however, I strongly disagree with the idea that removal of religion would require something else that would be just like religion again. I double, even triple strongly disagree that science cannot be something that can fill the space of religion. It sure can. If you need a subject that managed completely to do that, I would love to be a subject for such research. Science can and does fill the "need to believe". It is about the education and proximity to science during development. Religious belief does not have a special space in us. I don't see a research that shows that. I know it might be useful (especially for politics), but it is not a must. I believe de Waal wanted to play nice to "both sides" in this debate, but I find his explanations deeply poor and they lack the power to reflect the intellectual background of the author. That deeply saddened and concerned me. I am strongly against what he calls "neo-Atheism" and I also strongly agree that these topics must not be made a field of war. Yet, his softness and naiveness about this topic is very peculiar.Still, I tried to ignore these disturbing so-called "explanations" of de Waal about atheism and religion. When you remove those simply unnecessary and uninteresting (and mostly debatable or obciously wrong) sections, the book is a masterpiece for science of morality and ethology.
review 2: The Dutch primatologist, Frans de Wall, has a message for ‘the atheists’: religion is an overall force for good…and it’s not going away. Religious desire, he believes, is not a man-made phenomenon, but rather something genetically ingrained: a product of evolution that’s deeply rooted in pre-human animal morality for the purpose of ensuring communal cooperation. De Waal’s proof comes from his experience researching and observing our closest primate cousins: apes, chimps and, in particular, the bonobos. He claims that these three families—whose genetic makeup is 99.5% of our own—are innately moral because studies have shown them to exhibit behaviors such as sharing, caring and cooperation. That said, de Waal’s book is less a critique of the ‘new atheist’ movement than it is about non-human mammals and their ability to sympathize and empathize with each other. A 'popular science' book written for the layperson, The Bonobo and the Atheist is a fun and fascinating read. (Russ K., Ref.) less

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