I just finished reading a fascinating book called ‘Human Instinct’ by Robert Winston. The book is a detailed analysis of the great debate : nature v/s nurture. The question which has been haunting social scientists (and those from the natural sciences too) : which is more powerful in shaping our identity : our genes or our upbringing?
I quote from the blurb : what drives a happily married man to fantasize about pretty, young women seen on a tube train ? Why does a seriously injured mountaineer battle against impossible weather conditions to spend three days crawling down to the safety of the base camp ?…. All of these impulses are driven by our human instincts……
With this, it was impossible for me not to pick up this book. And once I started reading it, it was impossible to put it down. As a student of social psychology, I was particularly enthralled by the range of human emotions covered by Winston, such as risk, trust, competitiveness, aggression and sex drive, to mention only a few. He links all our present-day emotions to our very early days on the wild Savannahs, when our ancestors braved the elements and predators, and survived, passing on their superior, dominant genes to us.
Winston presents his case and explanations in simple idiot-friendly English avoiding heavy mathematical calculations and scientific gobbledygook. Yet, as the book progresses, there is no doubt that all arguments are based on solid experiments, understanding and reasoning.
What I found particularly gratifying was the way the book ended, with a discussion about the notion of a supreme being – god – that goes against all rational, scientific thought and reasoning. Winston says….. but science does not explain everything, and to pretend that it does, seems to me arrogant. That is enough is endear him to all readers, if nothing else.
Whether you are a serious scholar of science, psychology or any related subject, or you merely like reading about human nature, this is a must-read.