There's nothing in this book that you don't expect from a scientist who only accepts explanations grounded in nature and physical reality: we're a product of evolution and our existence has no preassigned purpose and meaning. The problem with the book isn't just its predictable statements. I'm afraid E.O. Wilson sounds like a broken record. He's written a book titled The Meaning of Human Existence, and he spends nearly half of it promoting group selection and refuting kin selection. I doubt he's...

One of the difficulties in modern science is the hyper-specialization that, with some good reason, has had to happen. Unfortunately a side-effect in this is the further distancing between the realm of science and the common populace identification with it. The result is a social separation that is not at all helpful and leads to a felt support in the ridiculous claim that science is incapable of providing any meaning or even the means of determining meaning. Wilson knocks this false claim down,

There is nothing in particular that I dislike about this book thus the 4 star rating. The author obviously knows his biological stuff and what the book does, it does well. The only issue I have is not with this book in particular - it is more with a particular attitude that I see cropping up in a lot of the science books and articles that I read in general, this one included. I know that many scientists are not religious and I don't expect them to be, to each his own, I am not exactly a "religio...

Meaning of Human Existence is a collection of essays by a great science writer. Probably never answers the title question, but who cares. I know the answer already anyway. Individual-Level Selection VS. Group-Level Selection: Humans are conflicted between the two. On the one hand, we evolved to think about ourselves over others. This might be the side that promoted "sin." On the other hand, we evolved to take care of our groups. This might be the side that promoted virtue, conscience, and honor....

Why are we here, what does it mean for us to be human, and now what are we supposed to do? Wilson's answer to the first two questions is the same: we are the product of an ancient history of physical, evolutionary, and cultural processes which have been unfolding for millennia and longer and which are extraordinarily contingent and could easily have produced an entirely different form of life. And to be human is precisely to be the utterly unique current culmination of those processes in the for...

In this crossover of philosophy and science, Wilson says to humanity, Know thyself, and thou shalt survive. Know that some of your behaviours are inborn, your propensity for religion is hard-wired albeit irrational, know that the Earth is the only habitable planet for you. The behaviours that guide you come in part from the natural selection that worked on the individual and in part from group selection. Those that we came to see as vices come from an individual's fight for survival; those that

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. It is very well written as are all his books for popular audiences. The problem I had with it was that it never really seemed to address the title and was more of an attempt at pushing his view of cultural evolution than anything else. Almost a bait and switch. :(

Loved. Wasn’t religious based which I love yet he included many aspects of science, religious views by others and how they correlate to humanity. There is alien talk, questioning if free will is real or just a figment of humans imagination, as well as marine life and micro organisms plus their importance. None the less it was an extremely easy read and could be put down and picked back up with no confusion.

This is a wonderful little book by a preeminent biologist, Edward Wilson. He has remarkable insights into the world and the nature of progress. If there is a single theme in the book, it is that human progress depends on both science and the humanities. Neither is sufficient by itself. Wilson writes, "The most successful scientist thinks like a poet--wide-ranging, sometimes fantastical--and works like a bookkeeper." In his writing, the scientist must write precisely and avoid metaphor, while in

EnlighteningOne of the world's great scientists has written, in all probability, his last book. E.O. Wilson is in his 90's, and it would be difficult to choose a topic more fitting to the end of his life's journey than this unusual combination of hard science and speculation.Wilson in not only the world's premier insect scientist, he is a founder of sociobiology and one of the great public intellectuals on evolutionary biology. He writes with charm and great depths of hard earned knowledge about...

Throughout his distinguished career, Edward O. Wilson has brought a vast wealth of interdisciplinary knowledge to bear on some of humanity’s most complex and pressing questions. The Meaning of Human Existence is his most philosophical work, and contains many worthwhile insights about humanity’s origins and possible futures. Wilson’s method, best characterized as a kind of “biohistory,” integrates findings from the natural sciences with humanitarian wisdom to achieve a long view of the human stor...

The narrative in this book reads much like the ruminations of a wise old professor talking about social evolution, the evolution of life, the humanities, instinct, religion, free will, and the fate of human existence. The author draws from a long career as a biologist and naturalists and speaks as one who knows his stuff. However, he doesn't spend much time addressing the implicit question contained in the title of the book, what is the meaning of human existence? His implicit answer is that hum...

Up front disclaimer: I have a Master of Divinity degree. That being said, I am a science enthusiast and read Scientific American regularly. I hoped this book would be a thoughtful examination of the inter-play of science and religion. Instead I found it to be an arrogant argument for science as the path to truth with the humanities as the discipline that keeps humans interesting. I was not persuaded by Wilson's argument, but more than that I was left wondering why this book is called The Meaning...

What a tour de force this book is. Science, philosophy, social sciences, humanities - so many deeply informed perspectives combined to take a hard look at who we are and where we are headed. One of the world's preeminent biologists and naturalists Edward O. Wilson is only one of two writers to have won two Pulitzers for his popular science books, which underlines his ability to write so intelligibly for the non-technical readers. Written lucidly and with great precision and insight, the relative...

E. O. Wilson sets out to bridge the gap between science and the humanities, the “two cultures” of C. P. Snow. Evolutionary biologists such as Wilson often have important insights into how human beings have developed, the nature of emotions, for example, or the nature of human cognition. Sometimes they go too far, in my opinion, by trying to reduce everything in cultural history to a biological phenomenon. But E. O. Wilson seems to have a healthy appreciation of the humanities, and to be willing

Douglas Adams said, "The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42." :-)Of course the writing of Douglas Adams and Edward O. Wilson are worlds apart in intent. I found this book interesting and informative, though it necessitates careful reading to appreciate all that E. O. Wilson says. I believe this book should be read by all that are interested in our futures. If you have read Richard Dawkins, it would behove you to also read this book to get a more balanced a...

This book was very thought-provoking. It was worth reading for the chapter on consciousness alone. Wilson makes the point that our consciousness(as well as what we call our "self") consists of making a narrative out of a series of random moments and sensations. I never looked at it quite that way. He also explains the mix of good and evil in human nature from an evolutionary standpoint. His theory is that from the standpoint of the individual, selfishness is a better survival strategy, but from

Nothing new here. On top of the unpleasant writing style, the author offers nothing really new or innovative to the conversation, and at times goes off the subject. One chapter is dedicated to guessing what E.T.s would look like. This is a filler chapter, skip it. In the end, this book may be a good read for people beginning to increase their knowledge of genes, evolution and group evolution, yet the language and structure just mind hinder those readers' ability to grasp them.

I really like E.O. Wilson. This book seems like a retread of his earlier ideas. It could be enlightening for someone with no background at all in biological or evolutionary science but I really didn't find anything new here. The exploration, such as it is, of the interplay of science and humanities was lacking in depth. This seems like a compilation of excerpts from Wilson's other books and articles. Read those if you want a better, more in-depth look into the sociobiological and humanistic idea...

Note: This is not so much a book review as it a review of my exploration of evolutionary biology which reached a new high when I finally read Edward O. Wilson's work. This is a summary of my notes masquerading as a book review. In the second half of this book, Wilson tells the story of how he eventually landed at multilevel selection as the definitive explanation for human social and cultural evolution. Ever since I started reading about evolutionary biology, I've been torn between the two leadi...