An important synthesis, provocative perhaps but very rewarding
Many readers may have read EO Wilson's expert work on ecology, ants and evolutionary selection in order to think through deeper insights into the human behaviour and history. In this book, Wilson takes the guesswork out of it, providing logical and evidence-based views on the human condition. He posts a question in his Prologue which considers the life of the restless and irrepressible artist, Gauguin - is the human condition understandable through the scientific enquiry? Wilson is one of the best qualified people on the planet to weigh up the importance of individual, group and multi-level selection for a species, areas of science directly relevant to Gaugin's question.
From a human perspective, the different mechanisms of tribalism are examined and its causes are analysed, pointing the finger past religion to competition for resources. An examination of the phenomenon of eusociality in insects, while fascinating in its own right, lends insights for human behaviour and societies. The reader is taken on an expertly guided tour of contemporary theories in social evolution, sometimes a little theoretical but easy enough to get your head around. The logical and simply explained chapter `Insects take the giant leap' is a key to understanding one of the most interesting aspects of biology. Similarly, `The forces of social evolution' sums up the gains and losses of the last few fifty years of research in this area, essentially comparing the merits of group selection and kin selection theory.
The final parts of this book ask `What are we?' and `Where are we going?', collating information provided earlier or from referenced arguments to examine the roles and importance of language, culture, morality and creativity. Insights abound and set the stage for Wilson's final chapter 'A new enlightenment' which achieves two objectives: it shows that scientific enquiry can lead us to the big answers, and offers a lucid, optimistic and compelling synthesis of what really matters and where to next for human society. This book is transformative - some of Wilson's specific interpretations will be challenged but what's new about that - he has taken on an enormous topic and provided a synthesis unequalled in scope and contemporary relevance. I am pleased to see this point is drawn out by the significant and ranging commentary offered by the reviews at this site.