The Moral Animal

Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology

By: Robert Wright

Narrated by: Greg Thornton

Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics - as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.

©1995 Robert Wright (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"An accessible introduction to the science of evolutionary psychology and how it explains many aspects of human nature. Unlike many books on the topic,which focus on abstractions like kin selection, this book focuses on Darwinian explanations of why we are the way we are--emotionally and morally. Wright deals particularly well with explaining the reasons for the stereotypical dynamics of the three big "S's:" sex, siblings, and society." (Amazon.com review)

Not for your average reader

This book is quite interesting but quite detailed and scientific. You have to be interested in the science piece of it and understand the science piece of it, to understand the book and the conclusions he draws. That said it's an interesting book on Darwin and The theory of evolution. He tries to show how a lot of our actions and the way we interact with people is based on The way that we developed in prehistoric times as a social people.

Evolutionary psychology is fascinating

Very engaging book. Robert Wright obviously had think about this topic deeply. He incorporates science into the big picture which is what is life.

Life Changing Book

It may be the case, that any first book I were to read about the new Darwinian Paradigm would change my life - but the fact is that I read this one.
Wright's delivery is comprehensive, powerful, razor sharp, enjoyable, challenging, insightful, inspired and inspiring.
Truly a work that will go down in history as a herald of morality's future.

Philosophy for the non-philosopher

The book is a Darwinian slant on Darwin the man and its new paradigm (evolutionary psychology). I only started to fully appreciate this book after I realized it was not a science book for non-scientist, but rather a philosophy book for non-philosophers.

The author coherently ties together through an overriding narrative on our human psychology and moral development. While I've listened to most of the more recent books on the same topic from various authors (Dawkins, Diamond, Pinker, Gazzaniga, Wilson,Kahneman, and Ridley) available on Audible, none of them tied together the story as well as this book and make you feel the philosophical implications of the theory of evolutionary psychology.

The book is dated (copyright 1994) but not out of date. Most of the stories told in the book I've heard versions of them in the more recent books. That's not a fault of the book. It's just that I read this book (in 2012) after having read the other books.

I enjoyed this book so much that after listening I started listening to his other book, "Nonzero".

Warning: this book has the ability to make you reassess you place in the universe and become more interested in philosophy. Enjoy.

nothing new here

The chief premises of this book have been around for years as any student of anthropology can attest. All the author truly adds is a transparently left wing bias. Morality and evolutionary psychology are vastly distinct disciplines and, though a heroic effort is made to bridge the gap, it ultimately fails as all such efforts must.

Provocative, enlightening, sobre

If you could sum up The Moral Animal in three words, what would they be?

Altruism,sexism explained

What other book might you compare The Moral Animal to and why?

Dawkins' selfish gene and blind watchmaker explore similar themes but the 3 books complement each other. Whilst Dawkins usually deigns to comment on morality, Wright is happy to give us his view. The first section on gender differences superficially sounds chauvinistic and dated until we remind ourselves of the "blindness" of natural selection. The one point Dawkins made about being able to raise ourselves above our evolutionary tendencies is put into doubt in this book as we struggle with our concept of free will. This is excellent reading for an explanation of reciprocal altruism, kin selection and non zero sum games.

Quite Interesting!

The science behind our motivations and behavior, a lot of it based up Darwin’s theories which basically boils down to most of what we do being driven by our genetic pre-disposition for survival and propagation. A lot of it makes a lot of sense – interesting material. I enjoyed every minute of it.

starts strong

the first 3/4 of the book is great. the last 1/4 felt weak. the author makes large assumptions about certain key concepts like "brotherly love" and various religious beliefs that are poorly researched.

Creative Use of Darwin's Journals

Excellent read. Interesting perspective and insight regarding human morality, sexuality, and balancing instinct (natural selection) with intellect. I enjoyed the choice to utilize Darwin's life via journals as a practical reference to apply the paradigm.

Understand humanity

A must-read to understand humanity and make choices to live a happy and good life.