From the December 3 issue of Time:
“Morality and empathy are writ deep in our genes. Alas, so are savagery and bloodlust. Science is now learning what makes us both noble and terrible.”
“The deeper that science drills into the substrata of behavior, the harder it becomes to preserve the vanity that we are unique among earth’s creatures.”
“Sociobiology has been criticized as one of the most reductive of sciences, ascribing the behavior of all living things — humans included — as nothing more than an effort to get as many genes as possible into the next generation. The idea makes sense . . .”
“The brain activity that most closely tracked the hypothetical crimes . . . occurred in the amygdala, a deep structure that helps us make the connection between bad acts and punishments.”
As is typical with articles of this type, the overarching tone was one of smug self assuredness. The article states as settled fact conclusions that are hotly disputed (see here), as if only a whacked out religious fundie could possibly disagree with the conclusions of the God of Materialist Scientism.
Thank you also Dr. Sewell for pointing me to Anti-Matters, which has in this issue a very good review of the The Spiritual Brain.