The solitary self [electronic resource] : Darwin and the selfish gene / Mary Midgley.
2010
B1647.M473 S65 2010eb
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Details
Title
The solitary self [electronic resource] : Darwin and the selfish gene / Mary Midgley.
Author
Midgley, Mary, 1919-2018.
ISBN
9781844652532 (pbk.)
184465253X
9781844651917
9781844654437
9781844654833
184465253X
9781844651917
9781844654437
9781844654833
Imprint
Durham, England : Acumen, 2010.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (v, 154 p.)
Call Number
B1647.M473 S65 2010eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
171.9
Summary
Renowned philosopher Mary Midgley explores the nature of our moral constitution to challenge the view that reduces human motivation to self-interest. Midgley argues cogently and convincingly that simple, one-sided accounts of human motives, such as the 'selfish gene' tendency in recent neo-Darwinian thought, may be illuminating but are always unrealistic. Such neatness, she shows, cannot be imposed on human psychology. She returns to Darwin's original writings to show how the reductive individualism which is now presented as Darwinism does not derive from Darwin but from a wider, Hobbesian tradition in Enlightenment thinking. She reveals the selfish gene hypothesis as a cultural accretion that is just not seen in nature. Heroic independence is not a realistic aim for Homo sapiens. We are, as Darwin saw, earthly organisms, framed to interact constantly with one another and with the complex ecosystems of which we are a tiny part. For us, bonds are not just restraints but also lifelines -- Product Description.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-147) and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on print version record.
Series
Heretics (Durham, England)
Available in Other Form
Solitary self.
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Online Access
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Pseudo-Darwinism and social atomism
The background: egoism from Hobbes to R. D. Laing
The natural springs of morality
Coming to terms with reason
Darwin's new broom
The self's strange adventures
Conclusion: the wider perspective.
Pseudo-Darwinism and social atomism
The background: egoism from Hobbes to R. D. Laing
The natural springs of morality
Coming to terms with reason
Darwin's new broom
The self's strange adventures
Conclusion: the wider perspective.