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Article: The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are.(Review)
- Article from:
- Arena Magazine
- Article date:
- June 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Robert Wright, The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are, London, Abacus, 1996.
On my refrigerator is a postcard from Leeds. The illustration shows a bespectacled intellectual, scratching his chin, explaining: `I suspect that genetically I'm allergic to cleaning and culturally I need to have sex with a lot of people'.
The debate about genetic and cultural influences on human behaviour is a long one, punctuated by conservative claims that poverty and patriarchy are `natural' and unchangeable -- part of human nature. From the Left and the feminist corner comes a deep suspicion of the claims of genetic influences on human behaviour. Yet questions of ...