Dr. Gary Ackerman reviewed The Lucifer principle. by Howard Bloom
Lucifers Principle
2 stars
Great claims... not realized.
Paperback, 466 pages
English language
Published Sept. 15, 1995 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
3 stars
(7 reviews)
In the course of his inquiry, Howard Bloom became convinced that evolution could explain the fundamentals of human nature and the broad sweep of human history. He is not alone. It is no longer heretical to study our own species as one of evolution's creations, and many books are appearing on the subject. The Lucifer Principle, however, does not merely report on the rapid developments that are taking place within academia. Howard Bloom has his own vision of evolution and human nature that many scientific authorities would dispute. He is a heretic among former heretics. The bone of contention is the organismic nature of human society. - Foreword.
nekokat reviewed The Lucifer principle. by Howard Bloom
Review of 'The Lucifer principle.' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I just, hmm. I don't really know. I've owned this book for at least a decade, and I think I started it a few times over the years but never was able to finish it. The first couple of chapters (about humans being part of a superorganism, and ideas/memes using us to reproduce themselves) are actually pretty interesting, but the remaining 80% of the book is basically depressing, scientifically-tenuous and hard to follow.
It has some interesting ideas in it, at varying levels of believability. It strays dangerously into evopsych/biological determinism territory and has some weirdly anti-feminist / anti-Moslem tirades (all the more nauseating because he attempts to use Science and Rationality to back up some incredibly offensive assertions, drawing on supporting data which is heavily-biased, at best).
I also have a queasy feeling that someone could read this book and use it to justify/rationalize all sorts of mistreatment of …
I just, hmm. I don't really know. I've owned this book for at least a decade, and I think I started it a few times over the years but never was able to finish it. The first couple of chapters (about humans being part of a superorganism, and ideas/memes using us to reproduce themselves) are actually pretty interesting, but the remaining 80% of the book is basically depressing, scientifically-tenuous and hard to follow.
It has some interesting ideas in it, at varying levels of believability. It strays dangerously into evopsych/biological determinism territory and has some weirdly anti-feminist / anti-Moslem tirades (all the more nauseating because he attempts to use Science and Rationality to back up some incredibly offensive assertions, drawing on supporting data which is heavily-biased, at best).
I also have a queasy feeling that someone could read this book and use it to justify/rationalize all sorts of mistreatment of others.
Moorlock reviewed The Lucifer principle. by Howard Bloom
Review of 'The Lucifer principle.' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A semi-heretical look at our curious species using sociobiology, meme theory, and facts that don’t fit well into consensus reality (did you know that tuberculosis cases declined by 97% between 1800 and 1945 — before antibiotics came into the picture?). Bloom believes that like ants, bees, and slime molds, human beings join as individuals into assemblages of distributed pseudo-tissue in a larger “superorganism” — and that the traits of this superorganism are the understudied key to our history and destiny.
Subjects
- Anthropology
- Behavioural theory (Behaviourism)
- Cultural studies
- Science
- Human beings
- General
- Movements - Humanism
- Philosophy / Humanism
- Culture
- Philosophy Of Science
- History
- Evolution
- Philosophy