Beyond Human Nature

Oct 11, 2024 10:30 PM

Author:Jesse J Prinz

Beyond Human Nature

We are constantly told that human traits - from aggression to gender differences - are 'hardwired'. In Beyond Human Nature Jesse J. Prinz reveals that it is the societies we live in, not our genes, that determine how we think and feel.

From why mental illness differs so widely between cultures to how geography influences morals, from our sexual preferences to how we learn languages, he proves that the vast diversity of behaviour is not ingrained. This is a book about humanity's power to transcend nature; and one that, ultimately, celebrates our differences.

Jesse J. Prinz is currently a Distinguished Professor of philosophy at the City University of New York and an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he taught until January 2009. He works primarily in the philosophy of psychology and has produced books and articles on emotion, moral psychology, aesthetics and consciousness.

'From start to finish this book is a fine, balanced, enormously learned and informative blast on the trumpet of common sense and humane understanding ... wonderful' Simon Blackburn, New Statesman

'The nature versus nurture tussle has been running for centuries, and into this fervid arena steps Jesse J. Prinz ... he explores the origins of knowledge, language, thought and emotion and argues that there is not one human nature, but many' Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

'Jesse Prinz wants to call a halt to the "century of the gene" ... in a backlash against the tyranny of DNA' Sydney Morning Herald

Reviews

Compelling ... urgent and persuasive ... This bracing book leads the charge against the idea that genetics explains all

—— James McConnachie , Sunday Times

A fine, balanced, enormously learned and informative blast on the trumpet of common sense and humane understanding.

—— Simon Blackburn , New Statesman

The nature versus nurture tussle has been running for centuries, and into this fervid arena steps Jesse J. Prinz ... he explores the origins of knowledge, language, thought and emotion and argues that there is not one human nature, but many

—— Carl Wilkinson , Financial Times

Jesse Prinz wants to call a halt to the "century of the gene" ... in a backlash against the tyranny of DNA

—— Nick Miller , Sydney Morning Herald

Compelling arguments that cover a vast range of human behaviours ... [easy] to read ... We are not prisoners of our genes. The societies we have created by following careful rules of engagement largely leave us free to act as we see fit, for good - and bad

—— Robin McKie , Guardian

A salutary reality-check...Better Angels is itself a great liberal landmark

—— Marek Kohn , Independent

Pinker's scholarhsip is astounding...flawless...masterful

—— Joanna Bourke , The Times

Selected by the New York Times as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2011

—— New York Times

Deep and provocative analysis of people's battle with temptation and masterful insights into understanding willpower: why we have it, why we don't, and how to build it. A terrific read

—— Ravi Dhar, Yale School of Management, Director of Center for Customer Insights

A Guardian 2012 Literary Highlight

—— Guardian

Willpower rather than self-esteem is the essential ingredient for a successful life...The good news, according to the authors, is that willpower, unlike intelligence, is a muscle that can be exercised and encouraged to grow...The book's success in America underlines its timeliness...I suspect that all the politicians currently talking about "alarm-clock Britain" will be studying this book closely...people could benefit from reading this book

—— Daisy Goodwin , Sunday Times

[A] tour de force of psychological insight, research explication and compelling narrative that brings together in one volume the high points of Mr. Kahneman's notable contributions, over five decades, to the study of human judgment, decision-making and choice . . . Thanks to the elegance and force of his ideas, and the robustness of the evidence he offers for them, he has helped us to a new understanding of our divided minds-and our whole selves

—— Christoper F. Chabris , The Wall Street Journal

Thinking, Fast and Slow is a masterpiece - a brilliant and engaging intellectual saga by one of the greatest psychologists and deepest thinkers of our time. Kahneman should be parking a Pulitzer next to his Nobel Prize

—— Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, author of 'Stumbling on Happiness', host of the award-winning PBS television series 'This Emotional Life'

A major intellectual event . . . The work of Kahneman and Tversky was a crucial pivot point in the way we see ourselves

—— David Brooks , The New York Times

Kahneman provides a detailed, yet accessible, description of the psychological mechanisms involved in making decisions

—— Jacek Debiec , Nature

This book is one of the few that must be counted as mandatory reading for anyone interested in the Internet, even though it doesn't claim to be about that. Before computer networking got cheap and ubiquitous, the sheer inefficiency of communication dampened the effects of the quirks of human psychology on macro scale events. No more. We must now confront how we really are in order to make sense of our world and not screw it up. Daniel Kahneman has discovered a path to make it possible

—— Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget

For anyone interested in economics, cognitive science, psychology, and, in short, human behavior, this is the book of the year. Before Malcolm Gladwell and Freakonomics, there was Daniel Kahneman who invented the field of behavior economics, won a Nobel...and now explains how we think and make choices. Here's an easy choice: read this

—— The Daily Beast

I will never think about thinking quite the same. [Thinking, Fast and Slow] is a monumental achievement

—— Roger Lowenstein , Bloomberg/Businessweek

A terrific unpicking of human rationality and irrationality - could hardly have been published at a better moment. Kahnemann is the godfather of behavioural economics, and this distillation of a lifetime's thinking about why we make bad decisions - about everything from money to love - is full of brilliant anecdote and wisdom. It is Kahnemann's belief that anyone who thinks they know exactly what is going on hasn't understood the question; as such it's the perfect gift for opinionated family members everywhere.

—— Tim Adams , Observer Books of the Year

The book I most want to be given is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. I'm a speedy thinker myself, so am hoping to be endorsed in that practice.

—— Sally Vickers , Observer Books of the Year

In this comprehensive presentation of a life's work, the world's most influential psychologist demonstrates that irrationality is in our bones, and we are not necessarily the worse for it

—— 10 Best Books of 2011 , New York Times

Selected by the New York Times as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2011

—— New York Times

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