In Search of Human Nature. - book review

Adolescence, Spring, 2003

CLARK, Mary E. In Search of Human Nature. New York: Routledge, 2002. 576pp. $31.95 (p).

What is wrong with the West's "scientific" picture of what and who we are? Was Thomas Hobbes right to sum up human life as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"? In this work, biologist Mary Clark delves into the roots of human nature, offering a timely reevaluation of the basic attributes all humans share. In Search of Human Nature offers a wide-ranging and holistic view of human nature from all perspectives: biological, historical and sociological. Clark takes the most recent data from disparate fields--paleontology, primatology, ethology, genetics, neurosciences, physiology, anthropology, linguistics, ecological psychology, archaeology, mythology, fine arts, history and conflict resolution--and weaves them together with clarifying anecdotes and thought-provoking images to challenge outmoded Western beliefs with hopeful new insights. Beginning with the distortions intrinsic to analogizing human behavior with that of "intelligent" machines, Clark tackles an array of problems, from how environment and e xperience shape the brain to the ways we think about identity, meaning and conflict, to peaceful processes for healing and adaptive social change. Ending with modern-day examples of successfully changing communities, In Search of Human Nature offers a firmly grounded reason to be optimistic about humankind's future.