Reddit reviews In the Shadow of Man

Pressure like this can break a person, and there's no telling what you'll do to yourself or others if that happens.

I would recommend putting as much mental distance between you and Islam/religion as possible. I've found that the best place to start is reading about chimpanzees, since as the species most similar to ours they shed a lot of light on the origins of our morals, mindsets, and behaviors. I think your own curiosity will guide you from there. The best starter book for reading about chimpanzees is Jane Goodall's In the Shadow of Man.

It’s not post modern at all :) it’s incredibly relevant and contemporary primatology, as well as some philosophy especially in the realm of ethics. There’s some wonderful books on the this and I’ll list the links for them if you ever want to check them out

In the Shadow of Man (1971) this one is a bit old but incredible considering it was one of the first accounts of primate behaviour so accurate.

Sapiens (2014) now this book is an incredible read if you want a brief , easy and wonderful account of humans over our evolution. And what makes us “different.”

Primates and Philosophers (2006)

A personal favourite of mine, an excellent account at how something as “human” as morality is something perhaps shared amongst at least some great apes


The Metaphysics of Apes: Negotiating the Animal-Human Boundary(2005)

And a rather analytical text, tracing the interpretation of the human-like great apes and ape-like earliest ancestors of present-day humans, this study demonstrates how from the days of Linnaeus to the present, the sacred and taboo-ridden animal-human boundary was constantly tested. The unique dignity of humans, a central value in the West, was, and to some extent still is, on the minds of taxonomists, ethnologists, primatologists, and archaeologists. This book thus offers an anthropological analysis of the burgeoning anthropological disciplines in terms of their own cultural taboos and philosophical preconceptions.