ABSTRACT
The essence of the story is in evolutionary biology. This chapter focuses on the origin of life and the role of genes. Genes dictate that cows beget cows, ants beget ants, and humans beget ungrateful, self-absorbed little monsters. Still, some imagine being kin to monkeys somehow demeans humanity. In fact, we are related not only to apes but also to snakes, worms, hippopotami, aardvarks, emus, slime molds, and every other living thing on Earth. Some people hate the idea of human nature, preferring to imagine we are born as "blank slates," totally moldable by our environment and society. In fact, so powerful is the natural human instinct for communal cooperation that it has constantly spawned political movements, ranging from communism to socialism to fascism, and countless other ideologies, all based on subordinating the individual to some supposedly larger value. One aspect of human nature that fills author's heart is our sense of beauty.
