''The Lucifer Principle'' is a 1995 book by American author Howard Bloom, in which he argues that social groups, not individuals, are the primary "unit of selection" on

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

s and human psychological development. He states that both competition between groups and competition between individuals shape the evolution of the

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

. Bloom "explores the intricate relationships among genetics, human behavior, and culture" and argues that "evil is a by-product of nature's strategies for creation and that it is woven into our most basic biological fabric". It sees selection (e.g., through violent competition) as central to the creation of the "

superorganism A superorganism, or supraorganism, is a group of synergetically interacting organisms of the same species. A community of synergetically interacting organisms of different species is called a '' holobiont''. Concept The term superorganism is ...

" of society. It also focuses on competition between individuals for position in the "

pecking order In the zoological field of ethology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social groups interact, creating a ranking system. Different types o ...

" and competition between groups for standing in pecking orders of groups. ''The Lucifer Principle'' shows how ideas are vital in creating cohesion and cooperation in these pecking order battles. In the book, Bloom writes: "Superorganism, ideas and the pecking order...these are the primary forces behind much of human creativity and earthly good."

Reception of the book

Reviews of the book saw it as "ambitious" and "disturbing" in its conclusions that societies based on individual freedom might succumb to systems such as bureaucratic

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

Islamic fundamentalism Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a revivalist and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. The term has been used interchangeably with similar terms such as Islamism, Islamic revivalism, Qut ...

. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' said that "Readers will be mesmerized by the mirror Bloom holds to the human condition... He draws on a dozen years of research into a jungle of scholarly fields...and meticulously supports every bit of information...." while

Chet Raymo Chet Raymo (born September 17, 1936, in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a noted writer, educator and naturalist. He is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Stonehill College, in Easton, Massachusetts. His weekly newspaper column "Science Musings" appeare ...

in ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' termed it "a string of rhetorical firecrackers that challenge our many forms of self-righteousness".

Bloom responds to Islamic issues

Bloom later wrote that he and his publisher had been threatened by Islamic groups who objected to aspects of the book. He claimed that "Arab pressure groups asked ever so politely that ''The Lucifer Principle'' be withdrawn from print and that nothing that I write be published again. They offered to boycott my publisher's products—all of them—worldwide. And they backed their warning with a call for my punishment in seventeen Islamic countries." Bloom states that the attorney for the

Authors Guild The Authors Guild is the United States' oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has coun ...

wrote to his publishers, warning of an author boycott if the book was pulled from the shelves. The publishers asked Bloom to rewrite a chapter on Islamic violence, which led to the creation of 358 lines of footnotes attesting to the facts he presented within it, documenting that what Bloom wrote about Islam in ''The Lucifer Principle'' is based on expertise.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucifer Principle 1995 non-fiction books Books about evolutionary psychology Censorship in Islam Collective intelligence English-language non-fiction books Superorganisms Atlantic Monthly Press books