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phoinix | Staff 1.7K Views
Yesterday 2:39 PM

Humankind: A Hopeful History (eBook)

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Various Retailers have Humankind: A Hopeful History (eBook) by Rutger Bregman on sale for $1.99.

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About this book:
  • If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest.
  • But what if it isn't true? International bestseller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200,000 years of human history, setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another. In fact this instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of Homo sapiens.
  • From the real-life Lord of the Flies to the solidarity in the aftermath of the Blitz, the hidden flaws in the Stanford prison experiment to the true story of twin brothers on opposite sides who helped Mandela end apartheid, Bregman shows us that believing in human generosity and collaboration isn't merely optimistic—it's realistic. Moreover, it has huge implications for how society functions. When we think the worst of people, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics. But if we believe in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism, it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society, a case that Bregman makes convincingly with his signature wit, refreshing frankness, and memorable storytelling.

Editor's Notes

Written by johnny_miller | Staff

Original Post

Written by phoinix | Staff
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Community Notes
About the Poster
Various Retailers have Humankind: A Hopeful History (eBook) by Rutger Bregman on sale for $1.99.

Thanks to Deal Hunter phoinix for finding this deal.

Available from:
About this book:
  • If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest.
  • But what if it isn't true? International bestseller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200,000 years of human history, setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another. In fact this instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of Homo sapiens.
  • From the real-life Lord of the Flies to the solidarity in the aftermath of the Blitz, the hidden flaws in the Stanford prison experiment to the true story of twin brothers on opposite sides who helped Mandela end apartheid, Bregman shows us that believing in human generosity and collaboration isn't merely optimistic—it's realistic. Moreover, it has huge implications for how society functions. When we think the worst of people, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics. But if we believe in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism, it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society, a case that Bregman makes convincingly with his signature wit, refreshing frankness, and memorable storytelling.

Editor's Notes

Written by johnny_miller | Staff

Original Post

Written by phoinix | Staff

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3 Comments

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Yesterday 4:16 PM
70 Comments
Joined May 2016
dsclotheYesterday 4:16 PM
70 Comments
Read it a couple years ago in audiobook. Loved it. Don't remember much of it. I liked that it was a good readable sociology-type book that wasn't about how we're all going to die and everything is terrible
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Yesterday 7:30 PM
751 Comments
Joined Dec 2013
rod4400Yesterday 7:30 PM
751 Comments
I wanted all the stuff in this book to be true, because who doesn't want to imagine humanity in a more positive light in the current era? The problem is that I kept hitting on odd things that, when dug into, were simply not true.

One example: Bregman repeats a long-debunked claim by U.S. Army historian S.L.A. Marshall that only 15% to 25% of American infantrymen fired their rifles at the enemy during World War II, using it as evidence that humans are innately peaceful and deeply averse to violence. (more background on S.L.A. Marshall's claim and it being debunked in this NYT article: https://archive.is/0GC6e)
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Today 3:51 AM
110 Comments
Joined Feb 2021
SpaceWokToday 3:51 AM
110 Comments
Quote from rod4400 View quoted comment :
I wanted all the stuff in this book to be true, because who doesn't want to imagine humanity in a more positive light in the current era? The problem is that I kept hitting on odd things that, when dug into, were simply not true.One example: Bregman repeats a long-debunked claim by U.S. Army historian S.L.A. Marshall that only 15% to 25% of American infantrymen fired their rifles at the enemy during World War II, using it as evidence that humans are innately peaceful and deeply averse to violence. (more background on S.L.A. Marshall's claim and it being debunked in this NYT article: https://archive.is/0GC6e)
Pop science books like this always have issues like that. For me it was most eye opening to learn that much of the fundamental texts and studies that are brought up in school and every-day life are in actuality completely false and often created by people with their own agenda or problems with humanity itself. See the Stanford Prison Experiment, Lord of the Flies, etc

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