If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals about Human Stupidity

 
　　人類或許認為「智慧」是個禮物，對未能擁有這項能力的動物們充滿同情，這本書要說的事情將大大顛覆你的想法──智慧可能是種負擔，而且，動物們完全不需要它，也能過得很讚。
 
　　而這一切，要從尼采開始講起……。
 
　　尼采，一生帶有悲劇性色彩的哲學家，他的內在痛苦經常與動物有著難以斬斷的連結。這位飽受煎熬的學者，曾寫下對於動物的觀察，他既羨慕動物的無知，希望自己也能如此，就不必思索存在的意義，卻也可憐動物的無知，因為牠們無法思索存在的意義。
 
　　然而對動物來說，「不智」反而是非常明智且幸運的安排。如果從演化的角度來觀察，複雜的想法，對於動物王國裡的任何成員來說，可不是什麼好事。
 
　　那麼，如果尼采真能體驗一把「不當人」的感覺，就譬如，如果他是隻獨角鯨，會發生什麼事呢？
 
　　在7個讓人大開眼界的章節中，科學家賈斯汀．葛雷格以幽默的文筆，從動物的角度，審視人類引以為傲的種種智慧展現──語言的使用、理性、道德系統等等，挑戰許多人心中堅定的想法：有智慧，真的讓人類高動物一等嗎？而答案比我們以為的更奇特、也更有趣，這本書將大大改變你看待動物、人類，和生命意義的方式。(文/博客來編譯)

This funny, ＂extraordinary and thought-provoking＂ (The Wall Street Journal) book asks whether we are in fact the superior species. As it turns out, the truth is stranger--and far more interesting--than we have been led to believe.

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal overturns everything we thought we knew about human intelligence, and asks the question: would humans be better off as narwhals? Or some other, less brainy species? There’s a good argument to be made that humans might be a less successful animal species precisely because of our amazing, complex intelligence.

All our unique gifts like language, math, and science do not make us happier or more ＂successful＂ (evolutionarily speaking) than other species. Our intelligence allowed us to split the atom, but we’ve harnessed that knowledge to make machines of war. We are uniquely susceptible to bullshit (though, cuttlefish may be the best liars in the animal kingdom); our bizarre obsession with lawns has contributed to the growing threat of climate change; we are sexually diverse like many species yet stand apart as homophobic; and discriminate among our own as if its natural, which it certainly is not. Is our intelligence more of a curse than a gift?

As scientist Justin Gregg persuasively argues, there’s an evolutionary reason why human intelligence isn’t more prevalent in the animal kingdom. Simply put, non-human animals don’t need it to be successful. And, miraculously, their success arrives without the added baggage of destroying themselves and the planet in the process. In seven mind-bending and hilarious chapters, Gregg highlights one feature seemingly unique to humans--our use of language, our rationality, our moral systems, our so-called sophisticated consciousness--and compares it to our animal brethren. Along the way, remarkable tales of animal smarts emerge, as you’ll discover:

＂A dazzling, delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings.＂ --Adam Grant

• The house cat who’s better at picking winning stocks than actual fund managers
• Elephants who love to drink
• Pigeons who are better than radiologists at spotting cancerous tissue
• Bumblebees who are geniuses at teaching each other soccer

What emerges is both demystifying and remarkable, and will change how you look at animals, humans, and the meaning of life itself.

San Francisco Chronicle bestseller - BOOKRIOT Best Books of the Year - Next Big Idea Book Club Best Science Books of the Year

＂I love the book, and everyone should read it.＂ --Ryan Holiday

＂Undeniably entertaining.＂ --TheNew York Times

Justin Gregg is a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project and an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis Xavier University where he lectures on animal behavior and cognition. Originally from Vermont, Justin studied the echolocation abilities of wild dolphins in Japan and The Bahamas. He currently lives in rural Nova Scotia where he writes about science and contemplates the inner lives of the crows that live near his home.