Waning Of Humaneness - Hardcover

Lorenz, Konrad; Kickert, Robert Warren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316532916 ISBN 13: 9780316532914

Publisher: Little, Brown US, 1987

Synopsis

The Nobel Prize-winning scientist confronts the modern malaise stemming from the horror of potential nuclear catastrophe and the dominance of the impersonal and argues for the rediscovery of the humane as a cultural force

About this title

Synopsis:

In "The Waning of Humaneness", Konrad Lorenz looks at the human species now. He sees great dangers. Intraspecific competition - sections of a species competing within itself for dominance - always endangers its survival. Added to that, the human species has or believes it has, a unique capacity for controlling its own destiny through it's uniquely powerful brain. This, he claims, leads to special dangers wherever such control fails to stay within the constraints of the planet's overall evolution. He cites the development of nuclear weapons and their capacity to destroy the world; urbanization, with most people living in a constructed environment and losing their awareness of their dependence on the natural environment; bureaucratization, with its corollary of alienation and individual helplessneess as people are unable to influence the course of their lives; and materialism, the relentless and destructive urge to acquire meaningless symbols of status. What is at risk is "humaneness"; the obligation to themselves and the world that the human species is under because of its unique power to influence what happens.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown US
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0316532916
• ISBN 13: 9780316532914
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 250