The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Peace and Violence in Human Evolution
Richard Wrangham
Feb 2019 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Michael Page
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5 reviews
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11 hr 44 min
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Throughout history even as daily life has exhibited calm and tolerance war has never been far away, and even within societies violence can be a threat. The Goodness Paradox gives a new and powerful argument for how and why this uncanny combination of peacefulness and violence crystallized after our ancestors acquired language in Africa a quarter of a million years ago. Words allowed the sharing of intentions that enabled men effectively to coordinate their actions. Verbal conspiracies paved the way for planned conflicts and, most importantly, for the uniquely human act of capital punishment. The victims of capital punishment tended to be aggressive men, and as their genes waned, our ancestors became tamer. This ancient form of systemic violence was critical, not only encouraging cooperation in peace and war and in culture, but also for making us who we are: Homo sapiens.
Throughout history even as daily life has exhibited calm and tolerance war has never been far away, and even within societies violence can be a threat. The Goodness Paradox gives a new and powerful argument for how and why this uncanny combination of peacefulness and violence crystallized after o...
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5 reviews
Jonas Vollmer
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July 21, 2020
Somehow this audiobook is unavailable in the mobile app (can't be purchased / downloaded) …
Cole Younger
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May 15, 2025
informative, and interesting, historical social, science
About the author
Richard Wrangham is Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology, Harvard University. He is the author of Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, and Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence (with Dale Peterson). He is the recipient of the Rivers Memorial Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Michael Page has been recording audiobooks since the mid-1980s and now has nearly 500 titles to his credit. He has won two Audie Awards and several AudioFile Earphones Awards. A PhD and a professional actor, Michael is also a retired professor of theater.
Richard Wrangham is Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology, Harvard University. He is the author of Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, and Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence (with Dale Peterson). He is the recipient of the Rivers Memorial Medal from the Royal...
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