Dark Nature: Natural History of Evil

by Lyall Watson

Book Overview

At a time when violence threatens to become epidemic and genocide takes the place of diplomacy in many regions of the world, it is no longer enough to simply dismiss such dark behavior as "human nature." People need to know why such atrocities and horrors take place, and the usual moral, religious, political and philosophical explanations have proved inadequate.

With Dark Nature, world naturalist Lyall Watson presents a scientific examination...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060927909
• ISBN13: 9780060927905
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Suits A Specific Mentality

First couple chapters are a lot of meandering and seem like a lecturer who likes to hear oneself speaking. Premise is hard science explaining all, even though it's not a physics purely science book. I'm going back to studying criminal psychology, which I find both richer in sound explanations of bad behavior and insightful and entertaining. A book that boosts the ego of certain intellectuals even while it accomplishes nothing for greater society. Thomas Pynchon fans will love this. Boring 50 percent overwhelming the good.

Hits Home

This book hits home with its reality and truths. I thorough enjoyed it.

Cuts to the core....

Dark Nature cuts to the very core of the will to survive. Mr. Watson takes you on an easy to read journey "up" the food chain to the homo sapiens: who is neither man nor kind. For me, Dark Nature removed judgment from the word "evil", giving a deeper, behind the scene look at what drives life. A must read. This copy was purchased a gift. In my judgment to continue to grow I needed to understand this piece of myself and the world around me.

Why do good people do bad things?

Why do men murder each other in acts of random violence? Why dostepfathers abuse or even kill their stepchildren? One may comeup with theological or moral answers, but for Lyall Watson inDark Nature, part of the answer in found in biology. It is forthe same reason that a newly dominant male baboon kills all ofthe youngest infants and all those born in the next five monthsafter he takes over. It is for the same reason that the bullelephant seal attacks and kills other males. In studying ourbiological heritage, we discover our basic evil genetic makeupand our power to overcome it.In the first part of the book, he studies the animal kingdom todiscover the parallels with human behavior. Human generosity andselfishness, for example, also have their natural counterparts.Watson describes a group of young penguins he observed on theedge of an ice floe. At first the leaders rushed to the water,but then seemed to have second thoughts. The water was dark, toodark to see through; could a leopard seal be waiting for a tendermeal? They backed away. The next group rushed to the edge, andthey too backed off. This process continued until those in theback got impatient and started shoving. At last one penguin fellin. The others all waited-yep, there was a leopard seal! Allstood quietly as the pup was consumed. After a while, the sameprocess continued until a second penguin made the second coursefor the seal. Again, a third time. The fourth time, however, theseal had apparently eaten enough, for the new swimmer was notmolested. After a while, the entire group jumped in and swamhappily. Selfish behavior-just like people.But animals can also be unselfish. Vampire bats have a rich diet,but the blood digests quickly so the bat must feed at least onceevery three days. But how can one be sure he will always succeed?When those who are successful return to the nest, theyregurgitate part of their meal to share with the less fortunate.The practice has survival value, but it is also a form ofgenerosity. Thus he says, "Being good and being bad are simplypart of being human."In the second part of the book Watson studies more primitivehuman societies, ranging from the headhunting Asmati to thetotally nonviolent Samai. Each culture attempts to deal with theissues previously examined in the animal kingdom, and both havereached "good" solutions. He doesn't advocate we becomeheadhunters, but he does feel their solution has worked for thatsociety.But this does not mean that we are simply slaves to our genes. Onthe contrary: Watson feels that we can overcome our baser nature.He discusses the horrors of the Holocaust and finds the causes inour humanity; but the solutions are also in our humanity and inour ability for free action.This is a fascinating book, both for its argument and for itsglimpses of animal and human behavior. It is not light reading,but if you watch nature programs or wonder why people act the waythey do, I think you will find it enjoyable.

A scientific approach to a religious riddle: evil.

Anyone interested in grappling with the all the hate in this world (and in their own hearts) should read this book. Watson breaks down human aggression into something our genes command us to do to keep themselves alive -- who's really in control here? Only by understanding our genetic enslavement, Watson argues, will we ever be able to rise above it. The book is wonderfully free of new age b.s and religious moralizing; it casts a bright light on a dark and slimy subject. The end result for the reader (at least this one) is a deep understanding of what makes our dark hearts tick.

Understanding Evil 101 - required course for what counts

Nicely crafted popular science book. Those of us who don't wonder about the nature of evil need not read this book. Everyone else fasten your brain belt before starting. The bibliography is worth the price of the book. Sources of experimental data and analysis that I had encountered over decades, and that continue to condition my deepest beliefs, but which I had lost track of show up here. I have been in the habit of calling much unpleasant human behavior "monkey nature". Lyall Watson reminds me of why I find the appellation both apt and admittedly unfair to monkeys. Besides, anyone who lives on "an ocean-going trawler" is probably worth listening to