Volume 30, Number 11 · June 30, 1983
Genes on the Brain
By Stephen Jay Gould
Promethean Fire: Reflections on the Origin of Mind
by Charles J. Lumsden, by Edward O. Wilson
Harvard University Press, 216 pp., $17.50
Immodest proclamation justly accompanies great discovery; who would gainsay Archimedes shouting 'Eureka' through the streets of Syracuse, or announcing that his lever would move the earth if only he could find a place to stand. More often than not, however, immodest proclamation is a cover-up, conscious or not, for failure. When conscious, the tactic can be stunning in its audacity: let us simply declare victory and get out, Senator Aiken declared in the best potential solution I ever heard for the morass of Vietnam. When unconscious, it is hollow.
Review, 5352 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |