Customer Reviews

Altruistically Inclined?: The Behavioral Sciences, Evolutionary Theory, and the Origins of Reciprocity

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In Altruistically Inclined, Alex Field presents a superbly dense and provocative exploration of individual behavior and reasoning. From a background of economics, his deconstruction and reassembling of our understanding of what is rational is an ambitious challenge that Prof. Field manages to tackle and push forward without descending into the excess of intellectual obfuscation. Not that Prof. Field entirely avoids drilling so deep into subject matter that we find ourselves immersed in annotation and data such that we must occasionally come up for air before choking on the dust left by a speeding intellect. It's a delicate dance and Prof. Field is to be commended for offering his thesis not as a debunking but as a methodical enhancement to current and classical science. His map of what might be referred to as a behavioral genome is hugely detailed and while he doesn't seek to redraw the boundaries, he offers topography within those lines that suggest vastly different interpretations than prior snapshots of the surface revealed. The author succeeds in arguing his thesis from multiple perspectives and applying a command of interdisciplinary reasoning. The effect is an elegant and compelling essay that sketches a portrait of our brain that is both an x-ray into evolutionary development and a broader credible reflection that speaks to the puzzles of social and political intercourse . As Behavior sciences lean toward inexactness, Mr. Field has been able to apply formula and rigor in measuring and testing traits characterized by nuance. That Mr. Field is an economist is evidenced throughout this book - His presentation of the data leaves the reader with an audit trail and confidence that support his theory and anticipate challenges occurring to the engaged reader. Beware though, this book is not a summer breeze. Though not without humor this book is a serious tome, and not written for "the layman" . As prefaced remarks so often allude to an effort by the author to make content more accessible to the non-disciplined reader, it is refreshing that Prof. Field avoids this dumbing down pitfall and engages readers as fellow academicians. That being said, this "layman" found his way through the material and can recommend Altruistically Inclined to others inclined toward the informative.