The most dangerous animal : human nature and the origins of war
(Book)

Book Cover
Published
New York : St. Martin's Press, 2007.
Edition
1st ed.
ISBN
031234189X, 9780312341893
Physical Desc
xviii, 263 pages ; 22 cm.
Status

Copies

LocationCall NumberStatus
Brookline - Adult355 Smith, D 2007On Shelf
Needham - Adult355.02 SMIOn Shelf
Newton - Adult355.02 S64M 2007On Shelf

More Details

Published
New York : St. Martin's Press, 2007.
Format
Book
Edition
1st ed.
Language
English
ISBN
031234189X, 9780312341893

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description
Almost 200 million human beings, mostly civilians, have died in wars over the last century, and there is no end of slaughter in sight. The Most Dangerous Animal asks what it is about human nature that makes it possible for human beings to regularly slaughter their own kind. It tells the story of why all human beings have the potential to be hideously cruel and destructive to one another. Why are we our own worst enemy? The book shows us that war has been with us - in one form or another - since prehistoric times, and looking at the behavior of our close relatives, the chimpanzees, it argues that a penchant for group violence has been bred into us over millions of years of biological evolution. The Most Dangerous Animal takes the reader on a journey through evolution, history, anthropology, and psychology, showing how and why the human mind has a dual nature: on the one hand, we are ferocious, dangerous animals who regularly commit terrible atrocities against our own kind, on the other, we have a deep aversion to killing, a horror of taking human life. Meticulously researched and far-reaching in scope and with examples taken from ancient and modern history, The Most Dangerous Animal delivers a sobering lesson for an increasingly dangerous world.
Description
Also includes information on nonhuman aggression, American Civil War, cruelty toward animals, Bible, bonobos, brain, chimpanzees, Christianity, war as cleansing, Charles Darwin, Egypt, face, France, Sigmund Freud, genocide, Germany, Greece, Adolf Hitler, David Hume, hunting, Islam, Japan, Jews and Judaism, killing at a distance, Mesopotamia, mind-body problem, Native Americans, Nazis, Plato, psychiatric casualties (post traumatic stress disorder), religion, Rwanda, sex, slavery, Soviet Union, Mark Twain, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam War, women, World War I, World War II, Yanomammi (people), etc.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Smith, D. L. (2007). The most dangerous animal: human nature and the origins of war . St. Martin's Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Smith, David Livingstone, 1953-. 2007. The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War. St. Martin's Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Smith, David Livingstone, 1953-. The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War St. Martin's Press, 2007.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Smith, David Livingstone. The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War St. Martin's Press, 2007.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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