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Humankind
Humankind: A New History of Human Nature | Rutger Bregman
A Guardian Book to Look Out For in 2020'Humankind challenged me and made me see humanity from a fresh perspective' YUVAL NOAH HARARIFrom 'the folk hero of Davos', Fox News antagonist and author of the international bestseller Utopia for Realists comes a radical history of our innate capacity for kindness.It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest.Providing a new historical perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history, Humankind makes a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. When we think the worst of others, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics too.In this major book, internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows how believing in human kindness and altruism can be a new way to think - and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society.It is time for a new view of human nature.
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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This is a book of finding good in humans. The author argues where good people stood up at bad points in history. I liked his arguments against some of Jared Diamond‘s theories in his book Collapse. Overall pick, enjoyed his perspectives of good.

CuriousG Have this one on my shelf, but it has to compete with the other hundred unread ones and hasn't made its way to the top of the pile yet, although I have read the first 40 pages on and off for quite a while! 1y
28 likes1 comment
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docukscribbles
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Wonderful book. Must read.

Megara Acknowledging the allegorical context of this graceful quotation, I cannot ignore the synchronicity as I stumbled across this post immediately after I wrote a journal entry on the cruelty of prison, the ineffectiveness of punishment, the drive to incarcerate for financial gain, and using prisons to satisfy folks' morbid need for revenge and spilled blood... Anyway! 😅 I read the paragraph below and crammed it into my #TBR fortress. 1y
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docukscribbles
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docukscribbles
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Pluralistic Ignorance
We are all trapped by it.

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docukscribbles
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Most of the times these are inversely proportional
Power and kindness
Power and modesty

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docukscribbles
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Most people, deep down are pretty decent.

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RaeLovesToRead
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Non-fiction & hipster drinks 💃💃💃

Confession. I have no idea how the Internet works. Neither does anyone I've ever asked. They mumble something about servers and then change the subject.

I SHALL SOON FIND OUT!

(Unless this book is anything like A Brief History of Time, in which case it will leave me even more confused and with the feeling that the scientific community is trolling me.)

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kspenmoll
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Check in: #JoysofJune #readathon
Still reading the top row; Botton row finished. #nonfiction #audiomystery #essays #ShetlandIslands #mysteryseries #JimmyPerez

Andrew65 Love the Shetland series. 2y
kspenmoll @Andrew65 I am so sad it ended but understand why. 2y
Andrew65 Me too, and think it could have carried on. 2y
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kspenmoll
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A trip to the library today, and #bookmail, Humankind. Appears I am on an Ann Cleeves kick?! #librarybooks

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shanaqui
Pickpick

And finished already! It's a very optimistic view of humanity, but it seems to track: when it points out weaknesses in studies, I've heard of those criticisms before. When it talks about studies, they track with what I know. Though I think some other people have complained about him using modern nomadic people as examples as if they're just like ancient humans, he doesn't: he says they're the closest we've got.

shanaqui I found it all pretty convincing, which I'm aware is partly because it's what I want to hear.

Also, very easy to read! It just sped by.
3y
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shanaqui

I'm finding this a really quick read, and rather restorative when most people think badly of humanity! I knew about Gina Perry's work on uncovering Stanley Milgram's manipulations of his experiments (her book “Behind the Shock Machine“ is great), and I have her book on the Robbers Cave experiment too (haven't read it yet), and the takedown of Zimbardo's work wasn't too new to me either... but picking them all apart together is new to me.

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bill4earth
Pickpick

If you‘re open minded then I would highly encourage this book.

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natashalb
Pickpick

A look at the history of humanity through the lens of kindness rather than cynacism. A fundamental belief that humans are by nature good and not governed by self-interest and selfishness and backed up by true events. After reading it's hard not to feel optimistic about the future.

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IuliaC
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Books like this one are necessary to restore faith in humanity. Extensive research and complex studies converge towards the idea that humans are eminently good and kind.
"We‘re living in the richest, safest, healthiest era ever. So why don‘t we realise this? It‘s simple. Because the news is about the exceptional, and the more exceptional an event is – be it a terrorist attack, violent uprising, or natural disaster – the bigger its newsworthiness."

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nocto
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Well, that's June done and dusted, just about. My #bookspin and #doublespin books both got read and I feel it was a good reading month all round! I have a handful of pages of Feeding Britain left to read which I'll get to this evening, and I've read the very beginning of one of the other books which I'll leave on the list for next month.

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nocto
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I got my June #bookspin finished. Yay! Super glad I read this. A book that explains why we humans are actually pretty much kind & decent people but often think the evidence is for the opposite conclusion. Uplifting and has left me with a lot to think about.

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IuliaC
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My book haul for May is growing 📚

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Xubst
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A little bit of reading before bed. Due to painful joints today I can't hold up the book myself, but Miss Owl is always there for me when I need her.

BookwormM Ahh I have a Mr Owl with the highly original name of Ollie for when my arthritis is bad. Hope your flare moves in soon 4y
Xubst @BookwormM Thanks, me too, today is a little better thankfully. 😊 4y
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ninanemila
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It was just as positive as I needed in the start of this January.

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KarinWestbrook
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Are humans inherently evil? Or, are we good, and the media portrays us that way? “News is to the mind what sugar is to the body.” So far, an intriguing read!

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kristenmcquinn
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JennyM
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My little humans are always early risers, but this morning they‘re still 💤 Glorious! So a few chapters for me of this fascinating book that has a message that‘s so needed right now #kindness Have a gentle day littens ❤️

Centique Such a pretty cosy photo too! 😍 4y
JennyM @Centique Sunday mornings 👌 4y
Tanisha_A Yes, what a lovely photograph. 4y
JennyM @Tanisha_A it was lovely...and the book is really good 👍 (edited) 4y
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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

This is exactly what I needed right now! The (Dutch) author presents readers with studies, news articles, and other incidents which supposedly support the idea that humans are selfish, killers, and just all around terrible. The twist here is maybe we aren't actually inherently "bad", and a deeper examination into these stories show a different narrative. A different, and necessary, look at the kindness of humans. ♥️ #nonfiction

Tineke This author is Dutch, not Danish. 4y
Chelsea.Poole @Tineke thank you so much! I meant to check that before posting and got distracted!! Fixing now 😊 (edited) 4y
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Abailliekaras
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A brilliant book. So engaging with a great, clean writing style that‘s informative & well-researched without being dense. Shows how humans have evolved to be cooperative & social. Wars, cruelty & ‘strongmen‘ are aberrations rather than how we must behave to get ahead. Challenges our thinking (eg the news gives us a skewed - negative- view of humanity) & gives hope for the future, if we can harness our better instincts.

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typefetishist
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AWESOME. It gives you so much hope about mankind. We tend to have a gloomy view of human nature and he uses a lot of great examples and real life stories to show that in general... most people are nice. Highly recommend. You will smile a lot. You will tell all your friends about this book. You will be happy you read it and you might just apply your new insights in your daily life.
(in the picture is the original version in Dutch)

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ElaineR
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Just finished Rutger Bregman talking to Lily Cole about his book, Humankind. Really excellent talk. Well worth a watch and should be available on #HayFestival site for free. Sorry for terrible pic 😂

squirrelbrain Oh, I nearly signed up for this one but had too many others on the list. I may watch it later.... 5y
ElaineR @squirrelbrain the good thing about the virtual festival is no parallel sessions. It was always hard to pick 😂. Rutger was very impressive. He talks a lot of sense! Books been on my radar for a while but this cemented it. 5y
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Patchshank
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https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-ha...

I found this to be a interesting read. It's an excerpt from Humankind by Rutger Bergman. I learned some things about Golding I didn't know. But I'm glad that real life went much better than the book. I would like to know more about the their time on the island.

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akaGingerK

Oof, there is so much evolutionary psychology in this book, and for those passages? Citation fricking needed.

The explorations of current sociology are great! The deep dives into the story behind stories we think we know, revealing the standard conclusions to be dubious? Fantastic!

And then he‘s back to just... these suppositions. And I just hit an all religion is an intentional creation for manipulation of the masses passage, and ugh.

akaGingerK My undergraduate degree was in anthropology. Referring to modern hunter gatherers as representatives of the Paleolithic gets my back up. It‘s simultaneously insulting to these modern, living cultures by positioning them as backwards/past-tense, and of dubious value in scientific terms, as our ancestors were engaging w/ different ecosystems and different cultures at their borders. 5y
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akaGingerK
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1) This book is very hope-filled and I wish it were out now to recommend
2) The author has already ripped holes in one of my least-favorite ~classics~ AND in the bad statistics used by one of my least favorite pop-science linguists, and I‘m still in part one.
#ARC

catiewithac I LOVED Utopia for Realists! So excited for this one!!!! 5y
akaGingerK Utopia for Realists was a great read! 5y
9 likes2 comments