The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit - Softcover

Melvin Konner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 003057062X ISBN 13: 9780030570629

Publisher: Heinemann, 1982

Synopsis

Why do we behave as we do, and how are we to judge this behavior in terms of right and wrong, good and evil, natural and unnatural? On the answers to these questions, whole systems of religion, law, and government have been founded. Now, science has begun to address these same questions, offering data that is both exciting and controversial. THE TANGLED WING is a synthesis of the extraordinary explosions of knowledge that have, in the past few decades, so greatly enlarged our insight into the human psyche – its limits as well as its potential. These discoveries, particularly in the biological sciences, range from the fragmentary to the momentous, from the tentative to the confirmed. Though far from forming a complete picture, they do offer revealing pieces of the puzzle that is mankind. Specifically concerned with the biological bases of human behavior and human emotions, THE TANGLED WING is a wise and compionate treatment of materials that have often been misused and exploited for questionable ends. In the age-old conflict between nature and nurture, it embraces neither side. Believing that a fundamental knowledge of the raw materials of life and how they impact on human behavior is essential if we are to shape humane and responsive institutions, it seeks to begin a dialogue that will support, through greater understanding, the very essence of ‘Homo sapiens’: the human spirit. Melvin Konner (b. 1946) held a doctorate in biological anthropology from Harvard University where he was an ociate professor as well as a medical student at the time of the publication of this book. He is now an American anthropologist who is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology and of Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University.

About this title

Review

"How wonderful to have a new "Tangled Wing which incorporates the rich findings made in the last twenty years in the fields of evolutionary and behavioral biology. We find the same graceful writing as in the original classic and the same facility to clarify complex issues and to come to stimulating conclusions."--Ernst Mayr, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
"How wonderful to have a new "Tangled Wing "which incorporates the rich findings made in the last twenty years in the fields of evolutionary and behavioral biology. We find the same graceful writing as in the original classic and the same facility to clarify complex issues and to come to stimulating conclusions."--Ernst Mayr, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
How wonderful to have a new "Tangled Wing "which incorporates the rich findings made in the last twenty years in the fields of evolutionary and behavioral biology. We find the same graceful writing as in the original classic and the same facility to clarify complex issues and to come to stimulating conclusions. "Ernst Mayr, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University""

"How wonderful to have a new Tangled Wing which incorporates the rich findings made in the last twenty years in the fields of evolutionary and behavioral biology. We find the same graceful writing as in the original classic and the same facility to clarify complex issues and to come to stimulating conclusions." --Ernst Mayr, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

About the Author

MELVIN KONNER is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Emory University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Heinemann
• Publication date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 003057062X
• ISBN 13: 9780030570629
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1