Customer Reviews

The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit

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I don't know how I managed to miss this one for so long (there was an earlier edition from the 1980's; this one is completely updated). Konner is a physician and anthropologist. He wrote this as an attempt "to show what an integration (of evolutionary psychology into the whole of social and behavioral sciences) might look like." It consists of an in-depth survey of the literature on the "science of human nature," and research into the biology of human "frailties" such as fear, lust, and love. He provides a very useful perspective as a cultural (?) anthropologist with great knowledge of the hunter-gatherer way of life and an understanding of the varieties of cultural expression. He frequently waxes poetic and uses substantial references to literature and the arts, of which I sometimes missed the point and which was prone to cause me to become distracted from the primary narrative as well. But give him credit for trying. Also, many chapters seemed to have no internal structure and felt like a random list of findings relevant to a subject. But I was extremely impressed with the impeccable referencing (accessed online), especially his personal recommendations for further reading.

What piqued me the most was his conclusion and final...tirade? His penultimate chapter starts with a tour of the dazzling new world created by the sequencing of the human genome but suddenly veers into a thorough and absolutely fact-based litany of why we are headed toward a Malthusian disaster if business continues as usual. He even updates Barrington Moore, Jr.'s targeting of "the attractive upper middle class mother, driving a station wagon full of happy sunburned children" (now it's an SUV and the kids are sunscreened) as the ultimate culprit in causing human misery. Several months ago I would have huzzah-ed him on and said "amen!" Now I'm not so sure of the utility of this exercise. I was actually personally offended by his statement that, "the deepest circle of hell certainly must be reserved for...'techno-optimists'." Such fools (as I) only have such hope because our homes are not yet "overwhelmed by floods, squatter populations, mafias, food shortages, electric grid failures, or epidemics."

For all the clear exposition of the causes of our potential annihilation he leaves a very scant image of our route toward salvation. Has he no imagination? Or is it just non-"academic" or Pollyanna-ish to try to envision how a successful human world might look? He only says, "It's a no-brainer: reduce population, reduce consumption, reduce pollution. That's it. Difficult? Too bad. Be grateful it's still possible. Ayres call it `God's last offer.' Take it or leave it." I think one could write a whole book in response to that....

If you read only one book about human behavior, this should be it. If you read many books about human behavior, this should be one of them. Prof. Konner is wise, he is erudite, he is literate, and he is humane. Rather than take one-sided positions or air only politically correct view, Konner synthesizes a huge amount of information and comes to sensible conclusions. I cannot recommend this book highly enough

Although somewhat repetative at times, this book is, overall, enlightening. Evidence from a broad range of scientific disciplines is displayed clearly, and the relationships and connections between subjects are elegantly exposed. This leaves the reader with a feeling that the basis for the ideas presented is solid and tangible, making the book all the more immersive. Exposition of some lesser-known studies which never the less have incited serious scientic revalations is perhaps this book's strongest point. This book serves as a jumping-off point for many avenues of thought, and is highly recommended to anyone who seeks to further their understanding of human intellegence, social behavior, and consciousness.

This is a long thick book. The main text is close to 500 pages. Reading it is not easy. I find it necessary to make serious attempts to stay focussed in reading the book. At times it can be repetitive. But if you are lucky enough to read it through back to back, the gain will be immense.

The plan of the book is as follows:

An introduction warns the reader not to romanticize exotic cultures.

Part 1 (Ch. 1 to 8) explains clearly that at least the foundation or scaffolding of our behaviors are determined by our genes. BUT at the same time, genetically related wirings of the brain CAN be modified by the environment. In this part of the book some basic neurology related to human behavior is discussed.

Part 2 (Ch. 9 to 15) explores basic human emotions, urges and behaviors. The psychology, neurology and biochemistry are all discussed. I am a practising physician, and I am most rewarded by the chapter on "Gluttony". I now know why my patients have difficulties in losing weight. I am surprised that I was not taught about all these in medical school! These chapters can at times read tedious but as I have said they are very rewarding indeed.

Part 3 (Ch. 16 and 17) reminds the reader (even though grounds have been covered throughout the earlier chapters) that in spite of the importance of genes in influencing over behavior, NURTURE is also important. The author somehow seems to change the focus of the book and speculates upon the future of human beings and whether we are still able to save ourselves from self-destruction through follies.

Part 4 (Ch. 18) gets even further away from the earlier chapters. It is very moving. It is about social justice and the thesis is that human selfishness can be modified because of the importance of NURTURE upon our behvior.

Pert 5 (Ch. 19) is very short, only 4 pages long. To me it's about spirituality.

So what have you got here? A long book on human behavior and the author's manifesto on how to save the world. I do not necessarily agree with him, but the book does teach me a lot. Some of it may even be useful for my clinical practice. My only slight disappointment is that this book, a book on human behavior, almost leaves religion out. It only mentions it tangentially (pg 481 - 482).

This is one of the best books on the subject I have ever read. While some of the technical material may become dated (or may have already become so) the overall tone and sense of the book are of enduring value. Briefly, Konner describes the way that our biology affects and constrains our spirit. The book is free of extremist positions, and has a great deal of wisdom in it

Melvin Konner's The Tangled Wing is a shining example of the way science is done. The depth of scholarship is truly inspiring - Konner remarked that there were originally two hundred pages of notes, "the meticulous preparation of which added at least a year to the project" (they were published online to keep the cost of the book down). Warning: after reading this book, the methodology of other authors might seem pathetically underwhelming by comparison. The next two books I read as part of my master's degree in engineering management seemed ludicrously speculative by comparison, with poor or nonexistent empirical support. A joke, in short, made all the more laughable due to the stark contrast with the depth of scholarship displayed in The Tangled Wing.

Scientific authors often have to trade off between popular appeal of their books and usefulness to the academic community. Konner settled that compromise more on the academic side, but I wouldn't say this book is wholly inaccessible to those outside the academic community (my education is in engineering, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it). If you don't mind wading through a little jargon about neurotransmitters and brain regions, there are plenty of fascinating gems to be discovered. And laymen might be just as impressed by the methodology of a real scientist as they are by the discoveries garnered thereby.

There is a chapter about weight regulation titled 'Gluttony' that I found particularly interesting. This is a deceptively complex topic that is subject to much pseudoscience and uninformed opinion, so it is refreshing to see the bright light of science shone upon it. I'll summarize some of the findings:

"Between the age twenty-five and fifty-five, the average American puts on an additional twenty pounds; all this takes is an energy intake that exceeds energy output by one third of one percent. " The sensations of hunger and satiety (fullness) are regulated by a complicated system using various forms of feedback, and tiny variations can make all the difference. "40 to 70 percent of human variation in plumpness is genetic, as measured in various ways in many studies. In a classic adoption study led by Albert Stunkard, 540 adult Danish adoptees were compared with their biological and adoptive parents. The subjects ranged from thin to extremely obese, and this dimension was highly predictable from the fatness of either biological parent but not from either or both adoptive parents...the family environment had no apparent effect."

"The meal-ending signal system is framed by the long-term fat-regulation system." In other words, when you have more body fat than your "set point," you feel full after eating less food than you otherwise would, triggering a loss of weight. "Unfortunately, it works both ways. Go on a diet, reduce your fat mass, and pretty soon your meal-ending sensors don't hear so well anymore." So lose weight and it takes more food to make you feel full, stimulating weight gain. This is combined with another insidious effect: the body regulates its fat content by varying its metabolic rate, so losing weight means the body reduces its energy consumption.

"Energy output is reduced by even a small (10 percent) weight loss, deliberate or not, so a 'formerly obese person requires approximately fifteen percent fewer calories to maintain a 'normal' body weight than a person of the same body composition who has never been obese.' This is due to an 18 percent decrease in energy use at rest and a 25 percent decrease in energy use while active." So an obese person who loses weight may 1) require more food to feel full than they used to and 2) their metabolism may decrease so their body naturally burns fewer calories than it used to. It's as if the body is striving to achieve a certain amount of body fat, called the "set point," which varies from person to person. These two factors explain why weight loss is rarely achieved in the long term.

Why does the human body seem to be designed for obesity? We evolved under hunter-gatherer conditions, when periodic food deficits were the norm. Studies of modern hunter-gatherer societies show that mild to severe food deficits are common, during which times stored fat confers survival advantage. This was probably also true in our species' history. "Natural selection could not provide us with an effective mechanism for keeping our weight down in times of abundance for the simple reason that it was giving us quite the opposite, a system that piles on excess fat in times of abundance, stores to draw on during shortages. Since there was rarely continuous abundance during the whole of human evolution - and certainly not combined with physical indolence - natural selection cannot have prepared us for such conditions."

As a previous student of Dr. Konner and a student of Neuroscience and Psychology, I must say that over the years I have read many, many books on human behavior and this is the absolute best by far. There is no book that is comprable to The Tangled Wing in it's thoroughness and it's readability. I have read this book cover to cover twice and use it for reference often. His research in the field is extensive. Dr. Konner is a marvelous speaker and his writings are equally captivating. New research in the field is developed upon the information contained in this book. Anyone interested in not only neuroscience, but how people are and why they are that way should read this book. It is very enjoyable and opens your eyes to seeing the world through a whole new perspective.

My second favorite book is "Childhood" by Dr. Konner. It's a must read for anyone interested in understanding children.

If I were asked to recommend only one book for everyone in the world to read, this would be the one.
It is a book about ourselves, written with compassion, humor, and great erudition in the sciences and the arts. Not light reading by any means, but infinitely worth the effort.

Dr. Konner is just an awesome professor, with a great hilarious sense of humor and an intriguing way of wording things. Just like he told my NBB 201 class, you're going to learn very important things from him...wink wink. Not only does it cover a highly scientific array of information, it's also presented in a fun-to-read fashion. It won't put you to sleep.

I have read this book three times and am still find it just as thought provoking as the first time..It seems more relevant every day....in changing times...