authors:
- Henrich, Joseph
content: 'A thought-provoking book, claiming that the individualism of the West is
  an unintended consequence of the family policy of the Catholic church starting in
  the early middle ages. This policy frowned upon incest, and gradually became more
  and more restrictive concerning how closely related the prospective spouses were
  allowed to be. This slowly broke down the clan-oriented social system, which led
  to the rise of other types of social organization, such as self-governing towns
  and guilds. And this in turn led to meritocracy and further on to the ideas of the
  rights of individuals.


  The interplay between policy, material conditions, and the evolutionary developments
  of social systems is one of the most important themes of this book. There is no
  single factor or driving force behind historical developments. The dichotomy between
  materials and idealist views of history is implicitly  repudiated; it is a matter
  of true interplay, with feedback between different processes.


  This is a dense book, requiring careful reading. (The reason it took so long for
  me to finish is, however, mostly of a personal context.) It is well-argued, and
  I think it drives home its main point in a persuasive way. It will be interesting
  to see the future discussion: It is clear that the roots of Western ideas of individualism,
  secularism and political freedom has much deeper roots than the Enlightenment of
  the 18th century.'
date: '2021-02-01'
edition:
  published: '2020'
  publisher: Allen Lane
goodreads: '50353991'
html: '<p>A thought-provoking book, claiming that the individualism of the West is
  an unintended consequence of the family policy of the Catholic church starting in
  the early middle ages. This policy frowned upon incest, and gradually became more
  and more restrictive concerning how closely related the prospective spouses were
  allowed to be. This slowly broke down the clan-oriented social system, which led
  to the rise of other types of social organization, such as self-governing towns
  and guilds. And this in turn led to meritocracy and further on to the ideas of the
  rights of individuals.</p>

  <p>The interplay between policy, material conditions, and the evolutionary developments
  of social systems is one of the most important themes of this book. There is no
  single factor or driving force behind historical developments. The dichotomy between
  materials and idealist views of history is implicitly  repudiated; it is a matter
  of true interplay, with feedback between different processes.</p>

  <p>This is a dense book, requiring careful reading. (The reason it took so long
  for me to finish is, however, mostly of a personal context.) It is well-argued,
  and I think it drives home its main point in a persuasive way. It will be interesting
  to see the future discussion: It is clear that the roots of Western ideas of individualism,
  secularism and political freedom has much deeper roots than the Enlightenment of
  the 18th century.</p>

  '
isbn: '9781846147968'
language: en
lastmod: '2021-02-01'
path: /library/henrich-2020.html
published: '2020'
rating: 5
reference: Henrich 2020
reviewed: '2021-02-01'
subjects:
- enlightenment
- favorites
- human-evolution
- liberalism
- morality
- political-philosophy
- religion
- science
title: 'The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar
  and Particularly Prosperous'
type: book
year: 2020