2
2
Introduction
The author of this book is an intellectual, originally trained in
science, who decided to avoid the limitations of an academic career.
Instead of conducting laboratory experiments and competing for federal
grant dollars, he put his interest in mass human behavior to work by
playing a key role in the careers of rock stars such as Michael Jackson
and John Cougar Mellencamp. Meanwhile, he continued to read widely
and do what all scientists, as intellectuals, should do; attempt to
understand and explain the nature of the world around him. His
experience "at the center of our culture's myth-making machinery" may
have taught him more about human nature than a university career.
Perhaps we should regard him as an anthropologist who has spent
many years observing a strange tribe--us.
In the course of his inquiry, Howard Bloom became convinced that
evolution could explain the fundamentals of human nature and the
broad sweep of human history. He is not alone. It is no longer heretical
to study our own species as one of evolution's creations, and many
books are appearing on the subject. However, The Lucifer Principle does
not merely report on the rapid developments that are taking place
within academia. Howard Bloom has his own vision of evolution and
human nature that many scientific authorities would dispute. He is a
heretic among former heretics.
The bone of contention is the organismic nature of human society.
Thomas Hobbes and many others of his time regarded individuals as the
cells and organs of a giant social organism--a Leviathan--"which is but
an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural,
for whose protection and defence it was intended." Today this idea is
<< < GO > >>
2
2
Introduction
The author of this book is an intellectual, originally trained in
science, who decided to avoid the limitations of an academic career.
Instead of conducting laboratory experiments and competing for federal
grant dollars, he put his interest in mass human behavior to work by
playing a key role in the careers of rock stars such as Michael Jackson
and John Cougar Mellencamp. Meanwhile, he continued to read widely
and do what all scientists, as intellectuals, should do; attempt to
understand and explain the nature of the world around him. His
experience "at the center of our culture's myth-making machinery" may
have taught him more about human nature than a university career.
Perhaps we should regard him as an anthropologist who has spent
many years observing a strange tribe--us.
In the course of his inquiry, Howard Bloom became convinced that
evolution could explain the fundamentals of human nature and the
broad sweep of human history. He is not alone. It is no longer heretical
to study our own species as one of evolution's creations, and many
books are appearing on the subject. However, The Lucifer Principle does
not merely report on the rapid developments that are taking place
within academia. Howard Bloom has his own vision of evolution and
human nature that many scientific authorities would dispute. He is a
heretic among former heretics.
The bone of contention is the organismic nature of human society.
Thomas Hobbes and many others of his time regarded individuals as the
cells and organs of a giant social organism--a Leviathan--"which is but
an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural,
for whose protection and defence it was intended." Today this idea is
<< < GO > >>