Richard Wrangham

This work has a clear vision of two views of human nature which the author associates with the views of Hobbes and Rousseau. People are selfish and violent or they are altruistic and peaceful. The author, drawing on several disciplines, suggests that evolution has made people both. The author suggests that humans self-domesticated, suppressing the genes that cause the hormones promoting "reactive aggression". The author suggest that humans are capable of "coalitionary proactive aggression" which makes humans tend to act aggressively when we believe we will succeed, with low risk of consequences. The author draws on behavioural studies of several mammals including rats, sable foxes, wolves, chimpanzees, bonobos and genetic and molecular biology, The author frequently points out that the fossil record is sparse, and that there are no sources of historical evidence. The author suggests that early humans, like wolves and chimpanzees, engaged in collusion to attack and overthrow alpha male "bullies", which led to cultural pressure to cooperate, and to adopt pro-social moralities. It is an interesting line of speculation.… (more)