Complex Worlds from Simpler Nervous Systems Book

Human Nature and Public Policy is a collection of essays from people from various intellectual backgrounds who argue that an evolutionary approach must be taken with regard a diversity of topics related to public policy. Some of these authors' evolutionary explanations and policy arguments would be agreeable to most people whereas others are controversial. Arguments are made for the following topics: 1) the legalization of prostitution; 2) the need for people to be scientifically educated about their role in the environment; 3) a change in judging criminal and other kinds of culpability based on more neuroscientific evidence; 4) the advocacy of consent-based euthanasia; 5) the understanding of criminal behavior as broad evolutionary traits of humans; 6) the reform of campaign finance due to the fact that increased campaign finance has little to do with how people select candidates; 7) the relationship between institutional change and environmental changes (using 'environment' broadly here); 8) the imperative to create political arrangements that are more socially just; 9) an incentive policy for 'good samaritans'; 10) the acceptance of agricultural biotechnology (i.e., hybridized foods); 11) the promotion of ethnic diversity and social education averse to xenophobia or ethnocentrism; and 12) the persistence of violent human tendencies and the necessity to combat them. Of course, reading this list, or even after reading this book, I seriously doubt everyone will agree with all of these conclusions. But that's what is nice about reading and reading about views that are contrary to one's own: it makes a person evaluate the beliefs he or she has and decide why he or she has these commitments. So at the very least, the book spawns critical thinking about very real public policy issues.