Human Instinct

Robert Winston is a simpler version of Richard Dawkins. Winston's writing is easier to understand and more interesting than a lot of other writers on the subject. As with any foray into scientific understanding, it would be best not to believe one man's views alone, but to balance it with the views of others to obtain an objective perception of the subject. Basically, while this book may be more interesting than others, one should read other books as well. Try Dawkins, Sagan, Gould or even Diamond. There are some varied ideas here and you can slowly see how they are different, not as scientists, but as people and this may give you a better insight into how they approach the subject and write about it.

The fundamental premise of evolutionary psychology is that biological evolution and animal psychology are interrelated. Animal behavior, determined by animal psychology, can have consequences within animal evolution; and animal evolution can have consequences within animal psychology, and hence within animal behavior. How behavior can influence evolution is the concern of evolutionary biology. How evolution can influence behavior is the concern of evolutionary psychology. This book is an accessible introduction to evolutionary psychology, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series. The author, Robert Winston, is "Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College, University of London, and Director of NHS Research and Development and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital." He is apparently somewhat of a celebrity scientist in Great Britain. I haven't seen the series and know nothing about the man. The book holds its own despite this. The choice of photographs within the book is poor. There are 8 chapters in the book and 8 pages (8 leaf sides) of photos, so each page could have had something significantly related to the discussion of the chapter, but instead we get several photos portraying the author in various ways - a consequence, I suppose, of his celebrity status in England and a selling point in the publisher's mind. The copy I have is a Bantam Books edition that only has UK pricing on it, and although it is an absolutely complete paperback, it has no copyright page and no date of publication anywhere on it. Perhaps other editions will use different photographs or exclude them altogether.

In Human Evolution, Robert Winston explores and explains the inescapable fact that human behaviour has its origins in our ancestry on the savannah of Africa. He goes on to explain various aspects of human behaviour originated with ancient humans and our pre-human ancestors and how our primitive instincts affect human behaviour today.Winston presents his book in a balanced and objective manner. He notes where uncertainty exists in his conclusions, and covers some sensitive issues related to the darker side of human character with typical objectivity.The book is well written, and very understandable. I enjoyed reading Human Evolution greatly and found its insights to be most revealing and intriguing. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who ever thinks or philosophises about human nature. I'm disappointed to see that at this time Human Nature is rated at 1,100,000 as it deserves to be a lot higher.

This book has been one of the most interesting readings I have had. It covers quite adequately all the basis of the new field of evolutionary psychology. While most people take human instincts for granted, studying the origins of these subconscious emotions enables us to understand behavior and psychology of homo sapiens better, and to appreciate precious human lives on earth that much more. It complements Richard Dawkins' book "The Selfish Gene" and fills in some of its holes, with some more up-to-date examples, including the dreaded Al-Quada. Nevertheless, it is not as mathematical, and it allows for easier reading for both scientists and non-scientists alike.Winston is not an atheist evolutionist as you might think. He stated quite clearly in this book that he had utmost respect for God and religions, which towards the end confused me a little bit.This book does NOT assume the infallibility of the theory of evolution, although it does assume a very primitive knowledge of it. For those of you who consider this book still not fundamental enough, feel free to ask me any questions. I should be able to help you close the gaps. (By the way, I am not a personal friend of, nor related to, Winston nor his affiliates.)