Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels: How Human Values Evolve

 《西方憑什麼》(Why the west rules for now)作者伊安˙摩里士最新作品，清晰梳理能源與價值觀之間的歷史脈絡

  

 　　現今地球上絕大多數的人都認同民主與性別平權是好事，暴力與財富不均是壞事，但十九世紀的人民卻對這樣的判斷嗤之以鼻，為什麼？史丹佛大學講座教授伊安˙摩里士借鑒於考古學、人類學、生物學與歷史學等研究成果，認為答案應與近期熱門議題──人類價值觀演化相關。

 

 　　摩里士強調價值觀的潛移默化肇因於最基本的驅動力──能源。過去取得能源的三種主要方式是糧食、農作與化石燃料，採用不同能源的社會自然衍生出迥異的價值觀。例如對一小群覓食者而言，雖然心裡有平等均分的概念，仍習慣以暴力手段解決問題；大型農業團體中，人們重視階級制度，遇事多以和平方法處置；及至巨型工業社會，平等的天秤再度回到人們心中，暴力事件亦大幅減少。

 

 　　倘若以石化燃料為主能源的現代，對推行民主制度、開放社會有利，那麼眼前大國運作中的能源革命是否有朝一日也會促使我們拋棄現階段珍視的價值觀？新興能源又將如何主宰人類的未來？

The best-selling author of Why the West Rules--for Now examines the evolution and future of human values

Most people in the world today think democracy and gender equality are good, and that violence and wealth inequality are bad. But most people who lived during the 10,000 years before the nineteenth century thought just the opposite. Drawing on archaeology, anthropology, biology, and history, Ian Morris explains why. Fundamental long-term changes in values, Morris argues, are driven by the most basic force of all: energy. Humans have found three main ways to get the energy they need--from foraging, farming, and fossil fuels. Each energy source sets strict limits on what kinds of societies can succeed, and each kind of society rewards specific values. But if our fossil-fuel world favors democratic, open societies, the ongoing revolution in energy capture means that our most cherished values are very likely to turn out not to be useful any more. Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels offers a compelling new argument about the evolution of human values, one that has far-reaching implications for how we understand the past--and for what might happen next. Originating as the Tanner Lectures delivered at Princeton University, the book includes challenging responses by classicist Richard Seaford, historian of China Jonathan Spence, philosopher Christine Korsgaard, and novelist Margaret Atwood.