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The Good Book of Human Nature
Book

The Good Book of Human Nature

An Evolutionary Reading of the Bible

Carel van Schaik and Kai Michel
Basic Books, 2016

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Analytical
  • Background

Recommendation

Like the Bible it analyzes, this text is lively and varied. Evolutionary anthropologist Carel van Schaik and Kai Michel apply contemporary perspectives from cultural evolution, anthropology and cognitive science to explain their interpretation of the Bible and what it reveals about human nature and the evolution of civilization. This treatment is ambitious, and some will find it controversial. But its examples from history, daily life and the Bible make it a fascinating read. While always religiously neutral, getAbstract recommends this analysis to those who are intrigued by cultural evolution and human nature, but not necessarily to those who prefer a faith-based approach to the Bible.

Take-Aways

  • Applying evolutionary perspectives, anthropology and cognitive science to the Bible offers a fresh interpretation and new insights about human nature.
  • Evolution gave humans three natures: the “first nature” of innate preferences, the “second nature” of culture and the “third nature” of rational thought.
  • “Sedentarization” as well as the development of farming are the two major shifts in human evolution.

About the Authors

Carel van Schaik is a professor of biological anthropology at the University of Zurich. Kai Michel is a historian and science journalist.

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