Bregman doesn’t make this assertion in Humankind, but rather makes a well-supported case that systems of control and incentives play to our worst instincts. Bregman provides vast supporting evidence for his claims, and over-turned many of my fundamental assumptions about the nature of humanity—which I had simply gleaned from popular psychology and “common sense”, through the weight of the evidence he provides.
I recommend both his recent books highly. While he may be pushing a particular narrative, it is one that is a counterweight to the prevailing distorted narrative of humanity passed down by the likes of Golding, Milgram and Zimbardo.
It’s odd that you say the reviewer provides no support for his assertions. It seems to me like the reviewer presents quite a bit of evidence.
For example, in responding to Bregman’s claim that male control over female sexuality (and gender inequality more generally) began with the rise of agriculture, Buckner (the reviewer) mentions arranged marriages among the !Kung, a hunter-gatherer society. Buckner also references husbands beating their wives for infidelity among the Kaska, a nomadic foraging society. He also references the Ache, a hunter-gatherer society, whose elite men “monopolized many fertile women in the population.” He also references the Mi’kmaq foragers, whose elite men get priority over the women and children for prime food.
In response to Bregman’s claim that sedentism and property ownership are responsible for the origins of warfare, Buckner cites a paper by Wrangham and Glowacki who summarize the literature: “cases of hunter-gatherers living with different societies of hunter-gatherers as neighbors show that the threat of violence was never far away.”
In response to Bregman’s claim that hunter-gatherers didn’t take ownership over inventions or tunes, Buckner contradicts this by referencing the Yolngu and Northwest Coast fisher-forager societies who do just that.
I don’t think anyone who actually read the review could honestly say, “The reviewer provides no support for his assertions.”
I’m really sorry, I didn’t actually mean to include that sentence! After making the claim, based on the quote alone, I read the article and indeed the author provides plenty of supporting evidence for his claims. I had thought I’d deleted the sentence before sending.
I’ve edited that sentence out now. Sorry for wasting your time having to make the case against it.
I only meant to make the claim that Bregman doesn’t make the claim as plainly as the reviewer makes out, and that Bregman does a good job of providing his own evidence—detailing how much inherited wisdom today comes from flawed research.
Thanks for your comment.
Bregman doesn’t make this assertion in Humankind, but rather makes a well-supported case that systems of control and incentives play to our worst instincts. Bregman provides vast supporting evidence for his claims, and over-turned many of my fundamental assumptions about the nature of humanity—which I had simply gleaned from popular psychology and “common sense”, through the weight of the evidence he provides.
I recommend both his recent books highly. While he may be pushing a particular narrative, it is one that is a counterweight to the prevailing distorted narrative of humanity passed down by the likes of Golding, Milgram and Zimbardo.
It’s odd that you say the reviewer provides no support for his assertions. It seems to me like the reviewer presents quite a bit of evidence.
For example, in responding to Bregman’s claim that male control over female sexuality (and gender inequality more generally) began with the rise of agriculture, Buckner (the reviewer) mentions arranged marriages among the !Kung, a hunter-gatherer society. Buckner also references husbands beating their wives for infidelity among the Kaska, a nomadic foraging society. He also references the Ache, a hunter-gatherer society, whose elite men “monopolized many fertile women in the population.” He also references the Mi’kmaq foragers, whose elite men get priority over the women and children for prime food.
In response to Bregman’s claim that sedentism and property ownership are responsible for the origins of warfare, Buckner cites a paper by Wrangham and Glowacki who summarize the literature: “cases of hunter-gatherers living with different societies of hunter-gatherers as neighbors show that the threat of violence was never far away.”
In response to Bregman’s claim that hunter-gatherers didn’t take ownership over inventions or tunes, Buckner contradicts this by referencing the Yolngu and Northwest Coast fisher-forager societies who do just that.
I don’t think anyone who actually read the review could honestly say, “The reviewer provides no support for his assertions.”
Hi Nathan,
I’m really sorry, I didn’t actually mean to include that sentence! After making the claim, based on the quote alone, I read the article and indeed the author provides plenty of supporting evidence for his claims. I had thought I’d deleted the sentence before sending.
I’ve edited that sentence out now. Sorry for wasting your time having to make the case against it.
I only meant to make the claim that Bregman doesn’t make the claim as plainly as the reviewer makes out, and that Bregman does a good job of providing his own evidence—detailing how much inherited wisdom today comes from flawed research.