The Third Basic Instinct How Religion Doesnt Get You
The Third Basic Instinct How Religion Doesnt Get You
The Third Basic Instinct is a thought-provoking look at the conflict between organized religion and human nature. In addition to the basic animal instincts to survive and to reproduce, humans possess a crucial third instinct, which has been a force for scientific discovery, innovation, and emotional intelligence. Without it, humans would not have evolved so far beyond other mammals. Unfortunately, a grave threat to this fundamental asset is organized religion, which restricts human potential and emotional evolution with outdated teachings. Combining news, science, humor, and history, The Third Basic Instinct offers a journey into the importance of personal belief systems. Readable for ages twelve and up, and covering topics such as women's rights, addiction, morality, and the origin of gods, The Third Basic Instinct avoids raging about the dismantling of religion, but instead renders science the greatest belief system of all.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Intriguing reading, indeed
Survival and Reproduction are the two things that drive all creatures to exist. But what really makes Humanity different from everything else in existence? "The Third Basic Instinct: How Religion Doesn't Get You" is a look at what separates – strangely stating it is the ability to disagree with religion. Saying that logic and questioning everything is the third instinct that drives mankind, Alex Key argues his point with knowledge and examples and makes a solid case for more carefully choosing one's belief system. "The Third Basic Instinct" is intriguing reading, indeed.
1 Star Shallow
I bought this book because I was curious to know what the author had to say. In a word, nothing. He has nothing to say about the great philosophical questions that have been debated by the great minds since the beginning of recorded history.
Mr. Key's primary objective is to sell the idea that God doesn't exist. Is he not familiar with Bacon, Descartes, Hobbes or Locke? This was one of the principal questions argued by these great philosophers.
He is at best a second rate Robert Ringer, and not in the same league as Ayn Rand. He is an atheist – not that I care about that – who has written a book with no substance.
I don't regret buying this book. It gives me material to review on my blog. I could not in good conscience recommend this book to anyone. If you want to read about atheism, read books by those who have original thought. I suggest Ayn rand.
5 Stars Engaging and Excellent Discourse on the Subject
I had an affinity with this book. Alex Key has done his homework. His book, The Third Basic Instinct: How Religion Doesn't Get You has a very powerful message delivered in a very straightforward way, citing examples from history, philosophy, popular culture and direct sources from the Bible, Quran, etc. I found the book fascinating in that the author tackled religious farce on so many different levels but always starting from a basic point: Our third basic instinct.
The three basic instincts the author describes are based on Alex Key's years of study about the nature of man and his society. The first two basic instincts we share with all other living things and these deal with survival and reproduction. The third instinct sets us aside from our animal kin much more than the opposable thumbs: It is curiosity and learning. To Alex Keys it is this third instinct that created religion, to explain the unknowns in the world around us. And it is also this basic instinct that should do away with religion. The more we know and learn the less we need to attribute to the supernatural and myth, which essentially are what makes up religion.
Like the recent work by Christopher Hutchins, God is not Great, Alex Key sites numerous examples of how religion does grave disservices to mankind. Not only the many wars fought throughout history with religious beliefs and affiliations used as casus belli but also many cruelties, injustices, murders and the like perpetrated by the faithful in the name of their gods. Alex believes that these are against nature because it goes against natural selection and even though these acts are undertaken in the name of religion, they are grossly immoral acts.
Another very interesting part of this book was Alex Key's description of what he called the "Platinum Rule", as opposed to the Golden Rule that people all over the world have been raised to know (do unto others as you would have other do unto you). In Key's Platinum Rule selfishness, in a long-term perspective, is actually a virtue as the benefits are in the future and tend to have positive effects on society. This is in direct opposition to short-term and short-sighted selfishness which benefits the few.
To give an example of what the author is trying to get across here for instance, let's say we have two men, both with the aim to become rich. The first man has a short-term selfishness which leads him to lying, cheating, theft and other immoral behavior to get what he wants. On the other hand our second fellow has a long-term selfishness. This guy has a goal, makes a plan, gets and education, forms a company and earns lots of money. He puts off the need to have the money in his hands until later but in the interim he improves the world around him by creating wealth, employing workers, developing an industry, supporting his family and staying out of jail. Key believes the whole world would be much better off for teaching the Platinum Rule as a virtue.
The Third Basic Instinct is quite an eye opening book, even for guys like me who have read several similar books before. The fact that Alex Keys has used so many various sources has served the author well to keep the book interesting – and an interesting read in my opinion tends to be a light read, no matter how heavy or serious the subject of the book is. I believe that this book has the potential to serve as a base for Alex Key to become one of our rising stars in social commentary. I am really interested to see what he comes up with next!
5 Stars Brilliant Narrative…..finally!
Having received this book from a close friend, I thought it would be a book where my mind would wander and not really get into what the author was saying. How I was wrong…….
This book tackles some serious subjects and I tended to agree with a majority of them. The book is well written and the details behind certain stories or tales confirm the author did his research.
I left the book on my desk, and people I work with became interested in the subject and actually read it after me. This book can very easily be a top seller. I highly recommend this book.
5 Stars Fantastic Book!
This is so easy to read and so logical. Much of what I had been thinking was in this book with so much more. I enjoyed it so much, I bought 10 more copies for my friends. Mr. Keys wrote the book I wanted to write for all my friends. Our existence is so simple. Loved it!!!!! Thank you.
Related posts:
- God Doesnt Believe in Atheists Proof That the Atheist Doesnt Exist
- The Way of the Modern World Or Why Its Tempting to Live As If God Doesnt Exist
- A Basic Look at Hinduism, the Oldest Religion in the World
- The Universe Next Door – A Basic Worldview Catalog
- Martin Luthers Basic Theological Writings with CD ROM
- Gods Politics – Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesnt Get It
- The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud – Psychopathology of Everyday Life, the Interpretation of Dreams and Three Contributions To the Theory of Sex
- The Humanist Way An Introduction to Ethical Humanist Religion
- God Is Not Great – How Religion Poisons Everything
- God Is Not Great — How Religion Poisons Everything
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Leave a Reply
Here in the States, a growing number of people are no longer affiliated with any religion. Yet, there are some Christian groups who continue to insist on blurring the lines of separation between church and state. For the non-churchgoers and freethinkers worldwide, this site features news, reviews and editorials on just about anything regarding religion. Your opinion is always welcome here, either as a columnist or commenter. Hey, this is not church -- you are allowed to speak your mind and think for yourself!
A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS: While comments are welcomed and get the Do Follow option, they are strictly monitored. That means comments must be on topic and add to the discussion. Submissions from multiple names having the same IP, troll comments, keyphrase users and the like will be deleted. Please see our policies page for more information.
 |
 |
Main Feed | Comments Feed |
|
 |
 |