Jung offers a study of the moral and ethical underpinnings of sociobiology.
The author begins by reminding his readers about how closely humans and chimpanzees are related, with the DNA profiles being incredibly close despite the “untraversable chasm” between the two groups. Explaining this gap, the author looks to the forces that shape whole societies, using a concept developed by British biologist William Wheeler—that of the “superorganism.” (“Human behaviors that are selfish sometimes while altruistic in other occasions are not a puzzle but an inevitable outcome for an animal that reproduces independently while simultaneously living life as part of a superorganism.”) Citing many sources and including the occasional chart (and extensive end notes), Jung outlines the sociobiological foundations for various aspects of collective human life, asking several questions in this context: How should courts or police systems work? What does the individual owe to the larger group? What is justice? (The author notes that all humans are entitled to equality by birth and the social contract, and yet, in “their genetic complements or in their contributions to society,” they are unequal; justice is the mechanism of balancing these two realities.) Jung’s prose is satisfyingly complex throughout, and his extended considerations of topics including morality and social responsibility are unfailingly engaging. Despite his obviously extensive research, the book has occasional ethical blind spots, as when the author touches on the subject of using animals for medical research and shifts immediately to unsupportable bromides like “[animal rights activists] should not blame the scientists for doing cruel things to animals,” since these scientists are only seeking to “discover scientific knowledge in an economical way.” The foundational idea of human societal “superorganisms” is more asserted than demonstrated, but Jung has done rewarding, thought-provoking work in conceptualizing the real forces behind key trends in human civilization.
A dense and occasionally controversial look at the behaviors of human societies.
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