The Primate Myth - by Jonathan Leaf (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Challenging everything we thought we knew, this book takes a revolutionary look at how humans are far less like other primates than we've been led to believe--and uncovers what truly sets us apart.

Humans are primates, much like chimps--or so we've been continually told. Yet recent discoveries show that our species has a different brain design, function, and chemistry; different eating, sleeping, mating, and rearing patterns; a different metabolism; and a different physiology than apes. Nor is our behavior much like theirs, and we don't even have the feet made for climbing trees that define the primate order.

Could it be that conceiving of ourselves as primates isn't helping us understand what it is to be human? By examining the latest research in neuroscience and genetics, we are propelled toward a radically different conception of our nature. In this way, we can begin to grasp the distinctively human dimensions of war, murder, suicide, and homosexuality, along with our fascinations with subjects like sports, politics, and fashion. Here is the path by which to understand our species' essential problems and uncover the answers for how we should live our lives.

Review Quotes

"Illuminating and paradigm changing! Jonathan Leaf overturns decades of assumptions about our human nature and its origin. Realizing that perhaps we have become too complacent in our human story, he poses the empirically driven question, what really has been our path of evolution? Leaf challenges and sheds light on our social, political, and truly life-or-death human decision-making. In a culture of individualism, do we truly realize our capacity for original thought and courage? Leaf is a profound, rare generational thinker. You will rethink our times with a renewed curiosity for human nature and our evolutionary cousins." --Professor Lisa Miller, Department of Psychology, Columbia University and New York Times' National Bestselling Author of The Awakened Brain

"It's easy to be cynical about human beings. This book is an antidote. Leaf thinks scientists have made too much of our evolutionary continuity with chimpanzees, which are horrifically violent. In fact, we act more like wolves and dolphins--more altruistic, more prosocial, more creative. Leaf rethinks the famous Milgram electric-shock experiments, the factors leading to suicide, how and why we seek status, and the origins of sexual jealousy. It's a provocative, wide-ranging book--a must-read for anyone trying to understand human nature."--George Musser, Contributing Editor, Scientific American and author of Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation: Why Physicists Are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe

"Jonathan Leaf delves into our brains and our prehistory to discover who we are: animals that hunt, speak, and follow the leader. Moving at ease through a mass of data, The Primate Myth is fascinating, occasionally contentious, and sometimes frightening."--Richard Brookhiser, Contributing Editor, National Review

"Jonathan Leaf is a brilliant amateur who can illuminate almost anything and who sometimes sees clearly what the experts miss. The experts who have told us that humans are essentially upgraded chimpanzees, he says, have missed a wealth of details that make us more similar to dolphins and whales. We share a remote ancestor with chimps, but once our forebears left the canopy of the tropical forest, we evolved into a large-brained, pair-bonding, cooperative, organizing, and language speaking species. The key is that we became a special kind of herd animal. Leaf fearlessly follows this thread through unexpected territory including why we fight wars; why men are more likely than women to be homosexual; and why humans (but not chimps) commit suicide. The book reflects his deep reading in a dozen disciplines, but Leaf's career as a successful dramatist serves him well. Every page is alive with anecdotes, recollections, and stories of the people who enthroned chimpanzees as our close cousins and thus diverted attention from who we really are." --Peter W. Wood, President, National Association of Scholars and Former Anthropology Professor at Haverford and University of Rochester

"No one can come away from Jonathan Leaf's extraordinary survey of the twists and turns of what we know about human nature without recognizing how our understanding of human nature has been abused and distorted for agenda-driven causes. The Primate Myth should be required reading for generalists and specialists alike."--Steven Hayward, Senior Resident Scholar, Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley

"This book shreds conventional wisdom about the origins of human nature. Leaf is a compelling writer and, whichever side of the argument you come down on, you will emerge with a clearer understanding of the challenges facing humanity in an age of ubiquitous information and global aggression."--Philip Howard, Author of The Death of Common Sense

About the Author

Jonathan Leaf is a playwright and novelist. He has written for the Daily Beast, Commentary, National Review, The New Criterion, Modern Age, Tablet, the New York Post, New York Daily News, Spectator (USA), Law & Liberty, City Journal, The Weekly Standard, and many other publications.

In 2018, The Wall Street Journal called his play Pushkin a "triumph," naming it one of the year's four best. Kirkus Reviews has called his novel City of Angles "literary entertainment at its best." Now Leaf turns his attention to the subject that his parents devoted their lives to and with which he has had a lifelong fascination: what neuroscience is revealing about human nature.