The Social Conquest of Earth

By: Edward O. Wilson

Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Edward O. Wilson is one of the world’s preeminent biologists, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and the author of more than 25 books. The defining work in a remarkable career, The Social Conquest of Earth boldly addresses age-old questions (Where did we come from? What are we? Where are we going?) while delving into the biological sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts.

©2012 Edward O. Wilson (P)2012 Recorded Books. LLC

Critic reviews

“Wilson’s newest theory...could transform our understanding of human nature—and provide hope for our stewardship of the planet.... [His] new book is not limited to the discussion of evolutionary biology, but ranges provocatively through the humanities.... Its impact on the social sciences could be as great as its importance for biology, advancing human self-understanding in ways typically associated with the great philosophers.” (Howard W. French, The Atlantic)

“a huge, deep, thrilling work, presenting a radically new but cautiously hopeful view of human evolution, human nature, and human society. No one but E. O. Wilson could bring together such a brilliant synthesis of biology and the humanities, to shed light on the origins of language, religion, art, and all of human culture.” (Oliver Sacks)

“Never shy about tackling big questions, veteran evolutionary biologist Wilson delivers his thoughtful if contentious explanation of why humans rule the Earth... Wilson succeeds in explaining his complex ideas, so attentive readers will receive a deeply satisfying exposure to a major scientific controversy.” ( Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review)

Fascinating

A methodological walk-though of humans conquest of Earth. Comparisons of other animals gave helpful analogies of how the human species conquered and adapted to every clime.

wonderful

loved all the insights and presentations of facts. great book. well worth reading, again, ans again

wide ranging from an ant guy

a long listen, but worth it. Wilson has fiddled in so many disciplines,, it is a treat to see how he has woven together so many threads.

Beautifully written and performed without a single error

My understanding in the extensive and confounding concepts of this book were made clear by the writing of Wilson, and my immersion within these concepts was sustained by the masterful performance of the novel. One for the books, Haha.

Sociobiology from one of its creators

Wilson's book is an accessible presentation of current thinking in sociobiology. He presents his views on the state of the science clearly, fairly representing varying viewpoints, though, of course, his own ideas prevail in this book. It is an interesting review of the evolution of his own thinking as various hypotheses and theories have risen and themselves evolved over the past half century. It is a wonderful explication of the process of science at the same time that it describes one aspect of science.

I particularly appreciated Wilson's hope that the sciences, humanities and social sciences will find more mutual understanding as they all seek to describe and improve the human condition.

Hogan does a masterful job of presenting Wilson's work. I suspect that if I heard Wilson speak, I would be surprised that he didn't sound like Hogan.

Very Unusual Perspective

Fascinating to consider the comparisons between ants and people. The power of social evolution in the development of two such different species was amazing to see as the book developed. It was a perspective that I had never considered. As our social communications continues to develop and expand, it will be interesting in a few thousand years see what the results will be.

Solid book by an accomplished author

E.O. Wilson stands among the foremost authorities on modern evolutionary biology and this book presents a fascinating view of modern theories in the origins of human culture. Instead of focusing purely on close genetic relatives of homo sapiens, he takes an interesting approach and compares our species with the other highly socialized animals we know of. A fascinating read for anyone interested in learning more details about human history. The only thing keeping me from a 5-star rating on this book is his occasional divergences into theology and the intro regarding artist Paul Gauguin which seems out of place.

Very Informative but...

Edward O. Wilson's expansive and authoritative research and knowledge of how we humans developed into ultra-social animals is quite impressive. I found most of the book to be very informative, significantly enhancing my understanding of how we evolved into the improbable yet extremely successful species we are today. Especially enlightening is his explanation of our fundamentally intense tribal nature, along with both the good and bad that go with it, as well as his examination of the conflict within each of us between individual and group instincts. For all of this, it is well worth the read.

As several others have already noted in their reviews, I did observe that he does reserve a special disdain for all things religious. While while he does make the point that religious groups, both large and small, are expressions of tribalism with sometimes tragic results, his myopic targeting of religion, and almost exclusively of religion, seems forced....and flawed. Although his critique of religion has some validity, I would have expected someone of his knowledge and objectivity to have applied the same scrutiny, and causticity, to other equally problematic areas. Why not also use the same biting approach applied to religion to political factions, socioeconomic classes, geographical ethnocentrism, and, finally, the biases and fallacies of his own class, academia.

Furthermore, not only does he limit his critique to religion, he goes on to rattle off a list of existential ills plaguing our planet and our species, that, according to him, cannot be solved by religion. They can only be solved by a new moral code we humans will eventually develop through "science"! What is most distressing about this incredible leap of faith is that the many ills he lists were not only the result of the great triumph of science but they often expand and distort unchecked by the inherent lack of a moral code within the scientific method. This point seemed to be conveniently omitted so as to allow the author to promote his own dogmatic biases shared by so many in mainstream academia today.

Excellent insights into being human

A mirror, an MRI and a psychological evaluation of the human condition. And a great listen.

Dreadful delivery of pseudo-scientific speculation

Listening to this book was like being at a boring lecture of a pompous professor. It is the perfect storm of droning delivery, armchair speculation, and obfuscated writing. At the end of a topic, I would grit my teeth as the author would write "In summary..." as that meant I was in for lengthy, pompous, and obfuscating recap. Add to that the fact that the work is highly speculative with little actual science, this book becomes much work for little reward. I couldn't make it past chapter 7 and should have stopped sooner.