Man By Nature: The Hidden Programming Controlling Human Behavior

Man by Nature is based upon the ongoing brain research that is providing new insight into how our brain functions. It shows how the left-brain Interpreter function makes it possible for us to be instinct-driven tribal territorial animals - consistently quarreling and warring with one another - and yet to be oblivious of the instincts provoking our behavior. The book identifies ten traits characteristic of human tribes, and develops a "Tribal Programming Theory of Human Behavior" that explains most observed human behavior remarkably well: It makes the case that human tribes are based primarily upon shared tribal beliefs that are defended as fiercely and irrationally as territory, thus making it almost impossible for religious and political tribes (for example) to discuss issues rationally. It concludes by weighing what will be required for the world and its tribes to eventually live in peace, given the new knowledge of our human nature.

Adam Leonard is an Engineering Scientist, a Software Engineer (a.k.a. computer programmer), a student of the life sciences, and an evolutionary philosopher. As an engineer, he first worked in trajectory analysis (for orbital and planetary entry space vehicles) and then transitioned to programming computers to solve engineering problems and analyze and display engineering data. The transition was serendipitous, because humans are notoriously poor at the kind of logic required for programming, and programmers consequently spend much of their time "debugging" ... figuring out why a complex program behaved the way it actually did instead of the way that had been expected; this turned out to be excellent training for figuring out why we, complex humans, behave the way we do instead of the way that's expected. Throughout his engineering years Adam's inclination toward philosophy and his natural interest in the life sciences kept him constantly reading and studying to stay abreast of the ongoing discoveries in everything from anthropology to zoology. As a result, when neuroscientists studying the brain began to publish popular summaries of their work, Adam recognized that their findings provided the key "missing" data that would finally allow understanding Man's behavior. In his book, "Man by Nature: The Hidden Programming Controlling Human Behavior," Adam describes this new and seminal brain research, shows how it enables a sweeping new "Tribal Programming Theory of Human Behavior," and considers the impact the new knowledge will have on Man's quest to eventually live in peace.