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kimball_hansen's review
1.0
1.5 stars. Is there any true altruistic person today? He made the bold claim that 20% of people are altruistic. I think that's a gross exaggeration. And the author made it seem that sympathy is better than empathy. But society teaches otherwise. And I guess altruism wins between the three? The only solution he presented for having more altruism was really just a political stunt to help Global Warming.
How does he go talk about altruism for 29 hours and fails to mention abortion? The first 40% of the book were good where he talk about altruism the rest of the 60% were just political BS opinion which had nothing to do with altruism.
This guy is very biased towards filthy liberalism and interjected his opinion way too often. He would add subtle, passive aggressive adjectives negatively towards those he didn't like, and then positive adjectives before those he loved and admired. Idiot. His preaching of vegetarianism made him lose credibility for me. Vegetarianism is good for some but you can't heap it on everyone.
He presents a lot of research in the form of statistics, many of which are correct, but there are a lot of his statistics which are very flawed and inaccurate. Yet people are going to accept all of this as truth even though it is easily false.
This book was way too long and the section on war was also too long and beaten to death (pun intended). I should get 10 altruistic points for having read the entire thing as I'm sure that there are many people who didn't even finish this book and praised it.
He made the absurd claim that the wealthy populations consume more meat than poor populations. Then he said a stupid statistic comparing how much meat Americans eat versus Indians and it's like, duh, most Indians don't even eat beef for one thing so that's not even a good comparison like apples and oranges. I lived in Paraguay a lot of people ate lots of meat and now I'm in Japan and hardly any people eat meat, relatively, so the author is a moron.
A few notes:
We only need morality if we lack love.
Ignorance is when a person can't look past his own projections. It's not always a negative thing.
Animals show behaviors of altruism. Elephants seem to be the most altruistic of all animals.
Toddlers develop or show empathy beginning at 18-24 months. About the time when they recognize themselves. Recognize oneself is important, but not necessary, in developing empathy.
Greeks aren't as social or friendly towards their compatriots.
60 to 70% of all TV programs contained violent material
To compare the size of chickens that get fattened, it's like a 10-year-old boy being fattened up to 330 lbs.
Every society that treats women better is less prone to war.
I need to Google Chuck Feeney.
Bhutan sounds like a fun country and too good to be true.
He did actually make a good point that increasing GDP doesn't mean an increase in general well-being of life.
How does he go talk about altruism for 29 hours and fails to mention abortion? The first 40% of the book were good where he talk about altruism the rest of the 60% were just political BS opinion which had nothing to do with altruism.
This guy is very biased towards filthy liberalism and interjected his opinion way too often. He would add subtle, passive aggressive adjectives negatively towards those he didn't like, and then positive adjectives before those he loved and admired. Idiot. His preaching of vegetarianism made him lose credibility for me. Vegetarianism is good for some but you can't heap it on everyone.
He presents a lot of research in the form of statistics, many of which are correct, but there are a lot of his statistics which are very flawed and inaccurate. Yet people are going to accept all of this as truth even though it is easily false.
This book was way too long and the section on war was also too long and beaten to death (pun intended). I should get 10 altruistic points for having read the entire thing as I'm sure that there are many people who didn't even finish this book and praised it.
He made the absurd claim that the wealthy populations consume more meat than poor populations. Then he said a stupid statistic comparing how much meat Americans eat versus Indians and it's like, duh, most Indians don't even eat beef for one thing so that's not even a good comparison like apples and oranges. I lived in Paraguay a lot of people ate lots of meat and now I'm in Japan and hardly any people eat meat, relatively, so the author is a moron.
A few notes:
We only need morality if we lack love.
Ignorance is when a person can't look past his own projections. It's not always a negative thing.
Animals show behaviors of altruism. Elephants seem to be the most altruistic of all animals.
Toddlers develop or show empathy beginning at 18-24 months. About the time when they recognize themselves. Recognize oneself is important, but not necessary, in developing empathy.
Greeks aren't as social or friendly towards their compatriots.
60 to 70% of all TV programs contained violent material
To compare the size of chickens that get fattened, it's like a 10-year-old boy being fattened up to 330 lbs.
Every society that treats women better is less prone to war.
I need to Google Chuck Feeney.
Bhutan sounds like a fun country and too good to be true.
He did actually make a good point that increasing GDP doesn't mean an increase in general well-being of life.
kcorbin's review
5.0
Deep and powerful
One of the best books I have read in a long time. This well researched, lengthy tome shows so much about humanity and our potential. I do not know how this book will ultimately change my life,but I know it will.
One of the best books I have read in a long time. This well researched, lengthy tome shows so much about humanity and our potential. I do not know how this book will ultimately change my life,but I know it will.
danarama's review
4.0
Pretty much a textbook on Altruism. Richard makes the case that human nature is essentially kind and co-operative and that nurturing that inclination is necessary for society's progress and to stave off environmental catastrophe. Really interesting and detailed and I'll enjoy having scientific references to throw at people who tell me humans are by nature cruel or selfish.
The last third of the book was fairly pie-in-the-sky, discussing international governance, reforms to capitalism, etc. I'd have preferred a bit more of a personal development bent. But perhaps that's what the further reading section is for, I suppose!
The last third of the book was fairly pie-in-the-sky, discussing international governance, reforms to capitalism, etc. I'd have preferred a bit more of a personal development bent. But perhaps that's what the further reading section is for, I suppose!
drdreuh's review
1.0
Never actually got through this tome... 'Date finished' is rather the date I finished trying.
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