If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity
- Downloads：4485
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-12 03:19:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Justin Gregg
- ISBN：B09QKTFZGR
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
“A dazzling， delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings。”
- Adam Grant
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:
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。
- Adam Grant
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:
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。
Reviews
agata
，
The contents of If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal， a nonfiction book written by professor and researcher Justin Gregg， are as delightful as the title。 How different would Nietzsche’s life be if he wasn’t a human， but a narwhal？ Would he be happier？ Less intelligent？ And is there any way to find out？In this book， Gregg explores the differences and similarities between the intelligence of humans and other animals。 We believe ourselves to be the smartest， most evolved species on Earth， but does that make The contents of If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal， a nonfiction book written by professor and researcher Justin Gregg， are as delightful as the title。 How different would Nietzsche’s life be if he wasn’t a human， but a narwhal？ Would he be happier？ Less intelligent？ And is there any way to find out？In this book， Gregg explores the differences and similarities between the intelligence of humans and other animals。 We believe ourselves to be the smartest， most evolved species on Earth， but does that make us more happy？ Is it even true？ And can our intelligence push us to doing something so fundamentally stupid as cause our own extinction？ These are the types of questions that Gregg ponders， answers and explains， using real life experiences and examples。 The book， while dealing with a lot of science and philosophy， is written in an easy to understand and follow way。 It’s informative and stimulating， but the charm and humor with which Gregg writes keep it from feeling dense or unapproachable。 I think every single person has at some point in their lives asked themselves the questions about cognition and the way living beings experience the world， and I loved reading about the answers from someone else’s perspective。 I also appreciated that Gregg briefly re-explains some concepts when they come up again in later chapters - we learn through repetition and it’s so much easier not to have to flip back several pages and try to find a specific explanation。TLDR: If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a brilliant， incredibly entertaining nonfiction book about animals and humans， and the different ways in which we see the world。 One of my favorite nonfiction reads this year， highly recommended！ 。。。more
Ari
，
Thought-provoking and humorous！ Insightful parallels between Nietzsche's philosophy and the author's own about how animals are 'better' than us， even when humans have more complex levels of cognition， awareness， and intelligence。 Fascinating tidbits surrounding animal studies/facts。 Got through this book within a week！ Thought-provoking and humorous！ Insightful parallels between Nietzsche's philosophy and the author's own about how animals are 'better' than us， even when humans have more complex levels of cognition， awareness， and intelligence。 Fascinating tidbits surrounding animal studies/facts。 Got through this book within a week！ 。。。more
Conny
，
I was a First Read Winner of this book， and it was not quite what I thought it would be， however the book is educational in an entertaining way and I recommend this insightful read。 It probable won't make my re-read list though。 I was a First Read Winner of this book， and it was not quite what I thought it would be， however the book is educational in an entertaining way and I recommend this insightful read。 It probable won't make my re-read list though。 。。。more
Bakertyl
，
An interesting attempt to define consciousness， this book tries to be entertaining while answering "Is being smart all that great？"Like when a creationist tries the classic line "If humans evolved from chimps， why are there still chimps？！？" as if this question means something， this book asks a dumb question， but then does a good job discussing it instead of just answering it。To creationists， chimps still exist because there is no reason for them not to。。。 humans evolved to do something else in t An interesting attempt to define consciousness， this book tries to be entertaining while answering "Is being smart all that great？"Like when a creationist tries the classic line "If humans evolved from chimps， why are there still chimps？！？" as if this question means something， this book asks a dumb question， but then does a good job discussing it instead of just answering it。To creationists， chimps still exist because there is no reason for them not to。。。 humans evolved to do something else in the food web， using different resources。 The original resources are still there， so chimps didn't go extinct。 Could I write a whole book about this？ No， but other people have， so good for them。 Gregg does a good job discussing the idea that animals aren't smarter than they are now because there is no advantage to being smarter。 Not in an "ignorance is bliss" way， but a "once you're smart enough to get the job done， extra isn't better" way。 If a woodpecker is smart enough to find food， mate， etc。， why would being smarter help？ He doesn't talk down to the reader but finds good examples of different examples of intelligence and why problem solving defines "success" differently in different contexts （usually survival for the animal involved）。Recommend to all nerds and first-year philosophy students。 **I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。 。。。more
Meow558
，
If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a surprising book by Justin Gregg about whether or not intelligence is really all that important and laudable。 Over seven chapters， Gregg covers different aspects of "intelligence。" He compares and contrasts these topics with animals， such as what he calls death wisdom， the knowledge that we will inevitably die， which humans have and animals do not。 But is this really important？ How does knowing we are going to die make us smarter than another animal？ Or how does h If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a surprising book by Justin Gregg about whether or not intelligence is really all that important and laudable。 Over seven chapters， Gregg covers different aspects of "intelligence。" He compares and contrasts these topics with animals， such as what he calls death wisdom， the knowledge that we will inevitably die， which humans have and animals do not。 But is this really important？ How does knowing we are going to die make us smarter than another animal？ Or how does having sophisticated languages make us smarter than another animal？ Or consciousness？ This book was entertaining。 It was humorous， seeming more like reading a conversation than a nonfiction science book。 This made it very accessible and easy to understand， even the more confusing terms that Gregg uses。 He also clearly put in a great deal of research， in a wide range of things。 I enjoyed that he used many different examples， not just the normal ones。 Yes， he talks about chimps and "intelligent" animals like dolphins and crows a lot， but he also talks about keas。 The normal example of mass genocide is the Holocaust， but he also mentions and goes over the lesser known Residential Schools in Canada。 He also does not just cover Western issues， he covers other issues like the Sakai incident。 This allowed me to not just learn about the subject of the book， but also different people and creatures。 All in all， I think this was a very good book。 I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy to read book about human intelligence。 It is both science and philosophy， so I would recommend it to people who are interested in either。Thank you to Little， Brown Company for this ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Foggygirl
，
Got this book from NetGalley， was an illuminating educational and entertaining read。 I look forward to reading more from this author。
Angie Boyter
，
Entertaining， thought-provoking， and informative but not convincingJustin Gregg studies dolphin communication for a living， and， given dolphins’ reputation for intelligent behavior， it is not surprising that he has thought a lot about how animals think or if they think or even if they are conscious。 In If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal， Gregg explores the human mind and compares us to other animals to try to determine whether the human mind is exceptional and whether we would be better off with the mi Entertaining， thought-provoking， and informative but not convincingJustin Gregg studies dolphin communication for a living， and， given dolphins’ reputation for intelligent behavior， it is not surprising that he has thought a lot about how animals think or if they think or even if they are conscious。 In If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal， Gregg explores the human mind and compares us to other animals to try to determine whether the human mind is exceptional and whether we would be better off with the mind of some other animal。 Each chapter begins with a quote from Nietzsche， then discusses some aspect of the human mind and looks at the degree， if any， that aspect also is present in other animals。 Not surprisingly， he finds that many of the traits of our minds are also present in many animals， such as consciousness。 Others， though， he argues are purely human， such as our ability to ask “why”， which can be a significant advantage in problem-solving。 I do not always agree with his conclusions about what traits other animals have。 For example， he seems to think animals lack imagination， but any cat owner who has watched their pet play with a toy mouse knows that imagination is at play。 The discussions did provoke me to think about the traits， though， and Gregg’s straightforward， conversational style made the exploration entertaining and enjoyable as well as informative。（ This would be a nice choice for many book groups。） My friends all heard my recommendation that they change their investment advisors after I read of a study that compared the investment success of three wealth advisors， a group of students， and a cat named Orlando。 Orlando won after a year of investing。 My cats are now available to manage your portfolio in return for treats！ There were also a wealth of fun factoids， like the number of bacteria in poop and when the lawn mower was invented。The conversational style may have weakened the impact of the book on me， though， as I had to question some of the arguments and the terminology。 In a simple example， a man died after he jumped off a trestle hooked to bungee cords but forgot that the elasticity of the cords would make him smack down on the surface below。 Gregg calls this a math error。 It is not; it is a misunderstanding of the nature of the equipment he was using。 Other issues I had were more significant。As the book progresses， the author spends more attention on extended discussion of some of the serious consequences of our mental flaws rather than concentrating on the flaw itself。 He perhaps rightly labels “prognostic myopia” the most dangerous flaw in human thinking。 Prognostic myopia is “the human capacity to think about and alter the future coupled with an inability to actually care all that much about what happens in the future”。 The example he chooses is our role in causing climate change coupled with our inadequate attention to addressing it。 I tend to agree with him， but the lengthy discussion of climate change， in my opinion， really belongs in a different book。 Gregg’s final verdict is that homo sapiens are no more likely to experience pleasure than other species， and pleasure is the ultimate objective。 Despite my disagreements with a number of his positions during the book， this is one I cannot really dispute。 And it did， indeed， bring a lot of pleasure to me along the way。 I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Little， Brown 。。。more
Dennis
，
This book comparing how humans and other animals relate to the world was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me， and I feel like I want to write so much about its topics on a personal level that I plan to buy a paper copy （which I still find much more pleasurable and easier to use than an ebook） and write a long essay which I think will be a more appropriate response than this short and rather random review。 The introduction was fascinating enough to me that I got a Nietzsche biography from the l This book comparing how humans and other animals relate to the world was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me， and I feel like I want to write so much about its topics on a personal level that I plan to buy a paper copy （which I still find much more pleasurable and easier to use than an ebook） and write a long essay which I think will be a more appropriate response than this short and rather random review。 The introduction was fascinating enough to me that I got a Nietzsche biography from the library; narwhals are much closer to my usual areas of interest。 But the early chapters went downhill for me--some long examples which didn't interest me， and a lot of repeating， rephrasing， recapping。 Many sections ended with a variation on how the characteristic written about might lead to our upcoming doom or impending extinction or being wiped off the planet--not that I disagree， but all the repetition just didn't seem like great writing。But then about halfway through， the book started making me think more than a book has done in a long time。 I've never been a fan of modern civilization or its effects on people， and care more about ecology than the economy， so I was very open to the ideas expressed in the subtitle and throughout the book。 I'm more like Greta （who's mentioned as an exception） than the author or most people。 Morality being used as justification for anything， a talent for lying while assuming others are telling the truth， embracing all short-term "progress" and comfort without caring about the long-term effects， exceptionalism as a species or a nation--these are among the topics to contemplate here。Like the author， I was shocked to discover that I have aphantasia。 Or more accurately， we were shocked to learn that 98% of people don't。 Very down to earth， and occasionally earthy， writing rather than academic。 Although there are many examples about other species， this is primarily a book about humans。 Spoiler: if Nietzsche had been a narwhal， he probably would have been a lot happier。Thanks to Little， Brown and Company， and NetGalley for the advance review copy。 。。。more
Dan
，
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Little， Brown and Company for this book on animals， humans and how we think。Consider the Narwhal。 Now the Narwhal would not get that reference to the David Foster Wallace essay that I was referring to， nor would the narwhal really care in the long run。 Humans might get it， might not get it， feel bad about not getting it， or just think that the writer who starts a review with that is a pretentious twit。 Humans have art， language， has mastered the atom My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Little， Brown and Company for this book on animals， humans and how we think。Consider the Narwhal。 Now the Narwhal would not get that reference to the David Foster Wallace essay that I was referring to， nor would the narwhal really care in the long run。 Humans might get it， might not get it， feel bad about not getting it， or just think that the writer who starts a review with that is a pretentious twit。 Humans have art， language， has mastered the atom and has learned to escape the planet that humans are rapidly depleting。 Narwhals swim，change color with age and can live up to fifty years。 They lack what we would call intelligence， but does that make their lives less living， or is intelligence just overrated。 Justin Gregg in his book If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity discusses the differences in humans and animals and how being blessed with intelligence might be a little bit of a curse。 The book is broken into 7 essays， each looking at something unique to humans and in each Gregg breaks them down from what we assume is right， but well those assumptions do get in the way。 Gregg looks at cognition， how humans can bring a few more factors and thoughts to cognition， but in actuality there is really no difference between humans and animals。 The most interesting thing is that Gregg shows that animals really didn't have to evolve a better intelligence to do the things they do， animals are quite successful without having to think things out， or feel guilty about what they have to do to survive。 Almost every page raises quite a lot of fascinating questions and facts。The book is not heavy， but told in a more conversational style， with plenty of facts and figures， and humor。 There is a mix of both nature writing and science with a lot of philosophy thrown in featuring the works of Nietzsche。 This also is explained well and really raises a lot of valid points。 The book never bogs down， and the author knows when he is getting too heavy or too much into a subject before moving on。 An interesting and different look at the thinking between animals and humans， that is both educational and humorous。 Recommended for readers of the books Flow by Mihaly Csiksmentmihalyi and Stolen Focus by Johann Hari。 。。。more
Steve
，
I loved this book。 Justin Gregg tells a great story about human intelligence and what it has done for us and the world， for better or worse。 The book is a thoughtful blend of science and philosophy， that is not overly opinionated。 What science there is was well-explained， and the overall tone was pleasantly conversational。 I liked how Gregg incorporates his own experience into the story and I appreciated the humor and charm of the book。 Overall， this is a great read。 Thank you to Netgalley and L I loved this book。 Justin Gregg tells a great story about human intelligence and what it has done for us and the world， for better or worse。 The book is a thoughtful blend of science and philosophy， that is not overly opinionated。 What science there is was well-explained， and the overall tone was pleasantly conversational。 I liked how Gregg incorporates his own experience into the story and I appreciated the humor and charm of the book。 Overall， this is a great read。 Thank you to Netgalley and Little， Brown and Company for the digital review copy。 。。。more
Heather-le Byrd
，
This book is educational in an entertaining way and I recommend this insightful read
Rae Nason
，
I have to say， this book really wasn't what I expected。 But I enjoyed it immensely。 Mr。 Gregg did his research impeccably and the book read more like a conversation with a friend than a piece of science based literature。 I found myself pondering things that I really hadn't given much though to in the past and I was curious to read further。 I laughed through most of it。 I also really appreciated how succinct and thorough the author was with explaining concepts that a lay-person might not have hea I have to say， this book really wasn't what I expected。 But I enjoyed it immensely。 Mr。 Gregg did his research impeccably and the book read more like a conversation with a friend than a piece of science based literature。 I found myself pondering things that I really hadn't given much though to in the past and I was curious to read further。 I laughed through most of it。 I also really appreciated how succinct and thorough the author was with explaining concepts that a lay-person might not have heard of before without making them overly complicated。 I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology or behavioral science or zoology。 Thank you to NetGalley and Little， Brown， and Company for providing me with a digital copy for review。 The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the author or publisher。 。。。more
Bruce Katz
，
A lively， highly accessible， informative， and thought-provoking examination of what we mean when we speak of "human intelligence，" how the language and concepts we use to frame questions of cognition are frequently misleading， and how animal cognition is far more like ours （and far less costly） than we admit。 Rather than repeat what others have said about the book， I direct you to the brilliant and insightful GR review posted by Krista。Let me share some general observations。 Gregg begins with tw A lively， highly accessible， informative， and thought-provoking examination of what we mean when we speak of "human intelligence，" how the language and concepts we use to frame questions of cognition are frequently misleading， and how animal cognition is far more like ours （and far less costly） than we admit。 Rather than repeat what others have said about the book， I direct you to the brilliant and insightful GR review posted by Krista。Let me share some general observations。 Gregg begins with two key points。 The first is that the word "intelligence" is largely without meaning: Despite our utter confidence in the exceptionalism of human intelligence， nobody really has a clue as to what intelligence is。 That’s not just a glib statement to say that we don’t have a good working definition。 I mean that we’re not sure if intelligence even exists as a quantifiable concept… If you want to highlight the slipperiness of intelligence as a concept， just ask an animal behavior researcher to explain why crows are more intelligent than pigeons。 You’ll often get an answer from folks like me along the lines of， “Well， you can’t really compare the intelligence of different species like this。” Which is code for “the question doesn’t make sense because nobody knows what the hell intelligence is or how to measure it。”The second -- the reason for the narwhal in the title -- is this: that for all the great value we assign to "human intelligence，" we never ask the question of 'toward what end？': Human cognition and animal cognition are not all that different， but where human cognition is more complex， it does not always produce a better outcome。There is a paragraph early in the book that captures， I think， where Gregg is coming from: If Nietzsche’s mind had been more narwhal-like—had he not been intelligent enough to ruminate on his impending death—his madness might have been less potent if not entirely absent。 That would have not just been better for him， but also for the rest of us。 If Nietzsche had been born a narwhal， the world might never have had to endure the horrors of the Second World War or the holocaust—events that， through no fault of his own， Nietzsche helped create。"If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal" looks at how "intelligence" （"cognition" is a better term， Gregg explains） expresses in both humans and animals -- communication， awareness of time and death， norms and morality， and more。 One is repeatedly struck by how similar in form， if not necessarily degree， human and animal cognition are。 Yes， animals do demonstrate foresight and planning， the ability to deceive， some kind of awareness of mortality， and even an affinity for getting drunk。 Along the way， Gregg explores the evolutionary ignificance such things asOur ability to lie: As a species， humans are both wired for credulity and for telling lies。 It’s that combination of traits — this bizarre mismatch between the human ability to lie and spot lies — that makes us a danger to ourselves。 This discussion looks at basic lying， bullshitting， and （inevitably） the growth of disinformation and misinformation in our culture。 He calls it "a firehouse of falsehood。" （One might wonder if Gregg had in the back of his mind Steve Bannon's infamous and all too prescient observation about politics: “The real opposition is the media。 And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit。”）Consciousness and what philosophers call "the problem of other minds。" Do animals "think"？ Do they think about themselves？ （Surely not as much as humans do。） “Self-awareness and consciousness are not synonymous。”"Episodic foresight，" which is “the ability to mentally project yourself into the future to simulate imagined events and potential outcomes。”Moral reasoning （not the same thing as norms）: Norms， Gregg says， are unspoken rules guiding behavior and are plentiful in both animal and human communities。 Moral positions， on the other hand， are “explicitly considered， evaluated， and decided upon by either the individual [or] society/culture。” We speak highly of morality， but should we？ Not necessarily， according to Gregg: Human moral reasoning often leads to more death， violence， and destruction than we find in the normative behavior of nonhuman animals。 Which is why human morality， as I will argue， kind of sucks。And then there's what he calls Prognostic Myopia，"the most dangerous flaw in human thinking。" Gregg characterizes it as the human capacity to think about and alter the future coupled with an inability to actually care all that much about what happens in the future。 Something we see all the time， to our dismay， when thinking about global climate change and environmental degradation。 To make his point， he talks about the American infatuation with lawns （“a giant middle finger to the environmental movement”）。 Nearly twenty percent of Massachusetts， Rhode Island， Delaware， and Connecticut are covered by lawns。 Lawn maintenance accounts for nearly 1/3 of all domestic water use in the US， despite the fact that most of the water never reaches the roots of the grass。 Then there are the chemicals we use to make our lawns beautiful， the runoff into rivers and the oceans， the gasoline used to mow the lawns， etc。 It's not that we don't know this is bad for the environment and， in the end， very bad for human existence。 It's just that we just don't care。 That's not how our brains work: "our minds evolved primarily to deal with immediate — not future — outcomes。" There's lots to ponder here。 Lots of information， cautions， and arguments for humility， all made engaging by a decidedly informal writing style and the frequent use of humor。 For readers （like me） who often find themselves skeptical about using the words "human" and "intelligent" in the same sentence， I suspect you'll find a kindred soul in Justin Gregg。 One quibble I have has to do with Gregg's usage of the word "know，" as in 'the dog/cat/dolphin/bee knows。。。 Not to get all philosophical， but "knowing" has connotations Gregg might not intend。 （Having finished this book， I am tempted to reread Timothy Ferris's similarly focused work， The Mind's Sky: Human Intelligence in a Cosmic Context。 I don't remember it very well but I recall that I liked it a lot。）My thanks to Little， Brown publishers and NetGalley for providing a digital review copy in return for an honest review。A mostly but not entirely non sequitur postscript: Should you be so inclined， I encourage you to seek out a children's book called "Nothing Rhymes with Orange，" by Adam Rex。 One of its many delights is the reference to Nietzsche it makes。 And yes， although "orange" presents obstacles to rhyme， the name Nietzsche does not。 See for yourself。 It's really funny for adults and a pleasure to read aloud。 。。。more
Krista
，
For narwhals to suffer a Nietzsche-like psychotic break， they would need to have a sophisticated level of awareness of their own existence。 They’d need to know that they were mortal — destined to die one day in the not-so-distant future。 But the evidence that narwhals or any animals other than humans have the intellectual muscle to conceptualize their own mortality is， as we’ll see in this book， thin on the ground。 And that， it turns out， is a good thing。 It would seem that author Justin Greg For narwhals to suffer a Nietzsche-like psychotic break， they would need to have a sophisticated level of awareness of their own existence。 They’d need to know that they were mortal — destined to die one day in the not-so-distant future。 But the evidence that narwhals or any animals other than humans have the intellectual muscle to conceptualize their own mortality is， as we’ll see in this book， thin on the ground。 And that， it turns out， is a good thing。 It would seem that author Justin Gregg chose the narwhal more or less randomly for the fetching cover art and title of If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal （as an Adjunct Professor at St。 Francis Xavier University and a Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project， I accept that narwhals are simply one of Gregg’s “favorite marine mammals”， even if I was slightly disappointed not to actually read about the enchanting sea unicorns in the book itself）， but counterpointing narwhals with Nietzsche does make for an intriguing title and serves to underline the fact that this book is equal parts biology and philosophy。 By exploring the latest research into animal intelligence， and comparing the results to what we know about the human experience， it’s hard not to share Gregg’s conclusion that human intelligence — and the undeniable harm we cause to each other and the planet through its unique powers — can be more curse than gift。 If only， as Nietzche lamented， we were all as stupid as cattle — living in the moment， neither melancholy nor bored — we would have no existential angst。 More cynically， as Gregg writes， “Narwhals do not build gas chambers。” This is a fascinating work of comparative biology that eventually pulls itself out of the misanthropic muck （human intelligence is capable of some good if we choose to use it that way）， but when Gregg repeats a few times that there’s a 9。5% chance that humanity will be responsible for our own extinction by the end of this century， it’s hard not to default to Nietzchean nihilism。 Interesting and thought-provoking （if a little bleak）， rounding up to four stars。 （Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms。） Like most human cognitive achievements， language is a double-edged sword responsible for as much misery as pleasure。 Would we， as a species， be happier without it？ Quite possibly。 Would the world have experienced as much death and misery had humans remained a nonlinguistic ape？ Probably not。 Language might generate more misery than pleasure for the animal kingdom as a whole。 Language falls victim to the Exceptionalism Paradox: It is the ultimate symbol of the uniqueness of the human mind， and yet despite its wondrousness， it has helped generate more misery for the creatures on this planet （including ourselves） than pleasure。 Over the course of seven chapters that explore phenomena that we think of as uniquely human traits （not just deception but “bullshitting”， the awareness of our own eventual deaths， morality， etc。）， Gregg demonstrates the limits of these traits in non-human animals， and then goes on to explain why the dumb beasts of the field and air are better off without them。 In evolutionary terms， Gregg argues against humanity thinking of ourselves as the peak of creation: not only does our unique intelligence cause existential angst and genocide and climate-changing catastrophe， but we’ve been here as a species on Earth for the blink of an eye and will likely wink ourselves out — while bugs and bacteria and crocodilia continue on with their millions of years of existence unaffected by our incidental flashing in the pan。 （And as our sun will eventually die anyway， none of us — collectively or individually — will matter in the unimaginably long history of the universe。 Cheers。） The science writing is often humorous and always accessible — featuring quotes by Steven Pinker and Malcolm Gladwell and Greta Thunberg — and as an animal-loving scientist who rescues slugs from his driveway before taking his daughter to school every morning， Gregg mostly laments the ecological damage our intelligence has effected: Our hankering for a snack in the twenty-first century is identical to what it was ten thousand years ago， but our complex cognition allows us to engage in activities （e。g。， oil and gas extraction， mechanized farming， soil depletion） on a massive scale， which is transforming this planet into an uninhabitable shithole。 Our kitchens are full of foods that come from a global agricultural-industrial complex that is fundamentally problematic to the survival of the human species。 But again， If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal isn’t all doom and gloom。 By the end， Gregg concedes that human intelligence has the capability to produce great works of lasting beauty。 And if we can eventually get together and decide to save ourselves， we’re capable of that beautiful act， too。 The tie-ins with Nietzsche makes this different from other books I’ve read on animal intelligence （Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are？， Aesop’s Animals， The Soul of an Octopus， etc。）， and it adds a valuable contribution to the fascinating conversation about our place in the universe。 。。。more
Jessica
，