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Solitary Self

Darwin and the Selfish Gene

  • Paperback
  • 176 pages
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
  • 13 x 19.6 x 1.6 cm

£47.26

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Renowned philosopher Mary Midgley explores the nature of our moral constitution to challenge the view that reduces human motivation to self-interest. Midgley argues cogently and convincingly that simple, one-sided accounts of human motives, such as the 'selfish gene' tendency in recent neo-Darwinian thought, may be illuminating but are always unrealistic. Such neatness, she shows, cannot be imposed on human psychology. She returns to Darwin's original writings to show how the reductive individualism which is now presented as Darwinism does not derive from Darwin but from a wider, Hobbesian tradition in Enlightenment thinking. She reveals the selfish gene hypothesis as a cultural accretion that is just not seen in nature. Heroic independence is not a realistic aim for Homo sapiens. We are, as Darwin saw, earthly organisms, framed to interact constantly with one another and with the complex ecosystems of which we are a tiny part. For us, bonds are not just restraints but also lifelines.
Solitary Self and Beast and Man
Beast and ManSolitary Self

  • Title

    Solitary Self

  • Author

    Mary Midgley

  • Book Format

    Paperback

  • Publisher

    Taylor & Francis Ltd

  • Published

    September 2010

  • Weight

    178g

  • Page Count

    176

  • Dimensions

    13 x 19.6 x 1.6 cm

  • ISBN

    9781844652532

  • ISBN-10

    184465253X

  • Eden Code

    4650046