Reviews for A common sense philosophy for modern man

The average rating for A common sense philosophy for modern man based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-10-16 00:00:00 Jonathan S Jackson Title: Race and Human Evolution Author: Milford Wolpoff and Rachel Caspari Genre: Nonfiction Length: 463 pages Reviewer: Pearson Moore Rating: 5 Stars Summary A leading authority in the field of paleoanthropology takes on science-based racism to reveal the critical flaws in racist thought. From the Publisher Drawing on a close examination of the fossil record and DNA evidence, this authoritative work by leading researchers challenges the popular "Eve" theory of human origins and posits a bold, controversial new account of human evolution and racial differences. Wolpoff is a professor of human anthroplogy and Caspari is an assistant research scientist. Maps and illustrations. Review I enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed few others. Wolpoff and Caspari present a fascinating case for the close fraternity of humanity based on careful nitty-gritty field work in paleoarcheology and the admirable ability to read between the lines of the fossil record. The text can be daunting at times to the non-specialist, but effort on the reader's part pays dividends in the form of a rigorously constructed and defended thesis of human equality. As a scientist myself (I am a pharmaceutical R&D chemist), I most enjoyed those passages of the narrative that delved into Wolpoff's early confusion about apparently conflicting data and the systematic and inspired steps he took to test hypotheses that might reconcile observation and theory. The result of his decades-long effort is a new theory in paleoanthropology that satisfactorily explains more of the disparate findings of archeology than any other system I am aware of. Called the Multiregional Hypothesis, Milford's theory says that human evolution occurred gradually in somewhat isolated local or regional populations possessing enough inter-connection to allow propagation of useful evolutionary changes over the entire human population. Critically, the genetic inter-communication among disparate populations included both 'primitive' and modern Homo sapiens as well as genetically distinct populations long considered separate species, such as Homo neanderthalensis. The upshot of Wolpoff's work is the discovery that there is no basis for believing Neanderthals and contemporary genetically distinct human populations were any more 'primitive' or any less intelligent than Cro Magnon or modern Homo sapiens. The necessary and critical corollary to Wolpoff's theory is that if the Neanderthal is my sister and in every sense as capable as I am, the women and men of every race are no less my sisters and brothers. The most exciting aspect of this book is that paleoarcheological discoveries since its publication have corroborated Wolpoff's theory in some quite spectacular ways. The 2007 discovery that most present-day non-African (and now even some East African and Nigerian populations) human beings contain in their DNA anywhere from one to four percent genetic material passed down from Neanderthal ancestors was a surprise even to those performing the studies. Early Homo sapiens didn't wipe out their Neanderthal sisters and brothers--they mated with them to produce us, their offspring. New data and the careful re-evaluation of old data is beginning to reveal a much more intricate Neanderthal culture than I was told about in high school 40 years ago. The prevailing paleoanthropoligical model, the Eve or "Out of Africa" theory, claims that modern humans suddenly evolved in Africa some 300,000 to 500,000 years ago. As they spread north and east out of the African continent, they supplanted, killed, or drove away the indigenous hominid populations, leading to their extinction. Wolpoff shows how this theory has been applied historically to provide a scientific basis for racist views toward non-Europeans. I think many reviewers misunderstand the intention of this book. It is not an anthropology text. From my perspective as a non-specialist scientist in a discipline quite different from paleoanthropology, I understand this book as rigorously-supported social commentary, a passionate call from the frontlines of anthropology to open our eyes to the severe damage wrought by institutional affirmation and encouragement of racism. Wolpoff's message, suffused as it is with the primary proofs of human equality and fraternity, is that racism has no basis in honestly investigated and interpreted scientific observation. 5 Stars

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-26 00:00:00 Robert Wayment Well, it's definitely not racist, as one reviewer asserted. Give me a break. It's an interesting review of the evolution of our understanding of human biohistory. It has a certain point of view, which is not hidden. Take it or leave it. I learned a lot and I enjoy learning things. I wasn't propagandized. I do possess critical judgement. One way I judge how useful a book was to me is how much highlighting I've done, in how many colors, how many varicolored post-it notes festoon its pages, and my copy of this book looks quite festive. So, yeah, it was useful. Criticism: Why is Wolpoff constantly called Milford? In the initial stages of reading the book, I kept wondering who the hell was Milford and kept looking up Milford in the index and finding nothing. Don't waste my time like that authors. Not appreciated. I'm busy, read the book as I have a few spare minutes and really may not pay attention to an author's first name, especially if it is a nonstandard one. Really enjoyed the sketches of Haeckel and Coon (I know, a race theorist named "Coon."--You gotta be kidding me.) Favorite quote: Hmm... This one was pretty interesting: "There is a direct link between Haeckel's interpretation of Darwinism and his version of polygenism, and the biopolicy of the Nazi regime. The biopolicy of the National Socialists arguably formed the central theorem of Nazism, underlying the most infamous political ideology and social policies of 20th century Europe. After all, 'National Socialism is nothing but applied biology.' It was 'the only element of the Nazi era which was neither modified nor manipulated in response to strategic or tactical requirements.' There was virtually nothing in the Nazi doctrines that was not put forth by Haeckel and well known and accepted by educated Germans when Hitler was still a house painter."