象征生活的黎明

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1、THEDAWNOFSYMBOLICLIFETHEFUTUREOFHUMANEVOLUTIONJONBEACHDigitizedbyCOOSIeCopyright©2010JonBeachAllrightsreserved.ISBN:1439268339ISBN-13:9781439268339DigitizedbyCooglePREFACEWhenIwasyoungerItoldpeoplethatsomedayIwasgoingtowriteabook.Igraduatedfromcollegewithadegreeinbiologybutthenpursu

2、edacareerinbusiness,andthereneverseemedtobeenoughtimetogetstartedonthatbook.But,bythetimeIturnedforty,Iwasgettingtiredofthedailygrindanddecideditwastimetomakegoodonthatpromise.SoItookaleaveofabsenceandspentthenextsixmonthsintheCalStateUniversityofFullertonlibrarylookingforideas.Ispe

3、ntmostofmytimeinthelibraryreadingandhadawon•derfultimeexploringthecenturiesofaccumulatedknowledgethatwerestoredthere.Ispentalotoftimeinthephilosophysec•tionanddevelopedanappreciationforthevalueofthisaspectofeducationthatIhadmissedinmyearlierscience-orientedtrain•ing.Butthebiologyand

4、anthropologysectionwaswhereIsud•denlyrealizedwhatthesubjectofmybookwasgoingtobe.IwasreadingsomeofE.O.Wilson's1971bookonsociobiologywherehearguesthathumanmotivationisdeterminedbyourgeneticmakeup.FromwhatIlearnedasabiologymajorinthe'70s,heshouldhavebeenright.ButWilson'sbookwasverycont

5、roversialbecausesociologists,anthropologists,psychologists,andmostotherpeoplewantedtobelievethathumanswereablankslateofunlimitedpotentialandmotivatedbyrationalthinking.Theideathatpeopleareslavestotheirgenesand,likeanyotheranimal,GIiiiDigitizedbyoogeTHEDAWNOFSYMBOLICLIFEspendalltheir

6、timejusttryingtopassontheirDNAtotheiroff•springjustdoesn'tmatchupwiththeself-imagethatmostpeoplehave.Beingabiologist,Icouldn'tagreewiththe"blankslate"viewpoint,butIcouldn'treallyacceptWilson'sideaeitherthatwewereheldonaleashbyourgenes.Then,sittinginthelibrarystaringatendlessrowsofbo

7、okshelvescontainingmoreknowl•edgethananypersoncouldeverassimilate,Ihadmyeurekamo•ment!IsuddenlyrealizedthatIwassittinginthemiddleofanewandvastlymorepowerfultypeofgenethathadfreedusfromtheleashthattethersallotheranimalstotheirDNA.Thinkingaboutit,Istartedtograsphowthismadehumansprofou

8、ndlydifferentfromal