Person
Every book Jonathan Anomaly recommended on podcasts
Jonathan Anomaly appears as a guest on Modern Wisdom, where he discusses bioethics, human genetic enhancement, human nature, and the future of reproductive technology. As evident from his podcast appearances, Anomaly is an academic deeply engaged in the philosophical, economic, and biological implications of human selection, gene editing, and evolutionary pressures. He frequently recommends and references books that explore the intersection of science, ethics, and societal futures. Among his top recommendations is Toby Ord's The Precipice, which he counts as one of his favorite books for its treatment of existential risks, alongside J. Craig Venter's Life at the Speed of Light, which he references when discussing synthetic biology and digital genetic sequencing. Anomaly also incorporates a wide range of foundational texts into his arguments. He discusses Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons to address philosophical puzzles regarding personal identity and future generations, Julian Savulescu's Unfit for the Future to examine moral enhancement, and Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics to explore economic studies on crime. Furthermore, he critiques Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel to challenge blank slate theories, and references Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind alongside Francis Galton's Hereditary Genius to discuss the genetic and social consequences of human traits over time.
Books recommended by Jonathan Anomaly
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Life At The Speed Of Light From The Double Helix To The Dawn Of Digital Life
Life At The Speed Of Light From The Double Helix To The Dawn Of Digital Life by J.
Recommended“and in fact one book about the future of this is by Craig Venter who was the first to sequence the human genome in the year 2000 and he does a lot of what's called synthetic biology now but his book is called life at the speed of light”
Where to get it
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The Precipice
The Precipice by Toby Ord is an influential examination of existential risks and the long-term future of humanity written by a researcher at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute.
Recommended“You know, Toby Ord has written this book, The Precipice, on this as well. I love it. It's one of my top five books ever.”
Where to get it
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Freakonomics
Freakonomics by Steven D.
Discussed“It was in the book Freakonomics as well. So, it's a very mainstream economist who did it named Steven Levitt.”
Where to get it
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Guns, Germs and Steel
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond is a sweeping historical and anthropological study that investigates why Eurasian civilizations survived and conquered other societies, attributing outcomes to environmental and geographical advantages rather than biological superiority.
Critiqued“So, a very famous and widely read book is Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.”
Where to get it
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Hereditary Genius
Hereditary Genius by Francis Galton is a controversial nineteenth-century work that attempts to systematically analyze and rank human intelligence and success based on hereditary lines.
Discussed“and his cousin Francis Galton who studied the ready of specific traits that we care about in humans intelligence so he wrote a book called hereditary genius but also just banal traits like height and skin color and hair texture and stuff like that”
Where to get it
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Reasons and Persons
Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit is a landmark work of analytic philosophy that explores personal identity, utilitarianism, population ethics, and moral obligations to future generations.
Discussed“So, um, a Brit named Derek Parett, a famous philosopher, wrote a book in 1984 called Reasons and Persons.”
Where to get it
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The Case Against Perfection
The Case Against Perfection by Michael J.
Discussed“old argument from Michael sandel at Harvard against using these Technologies was hypothetical at the time it's called the case against Perfection”
Where to get it
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The Righteous Mind
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt is an insightful exploration of moral psychology that investigates why good people are divided by politics and religion.
Discussed“And Jonathan Haidt and others have talked about this. I know you've had him on the show. He mentions this in his book The Righteous Mind that has to have genetic consequences over time.”
Where to get it
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Unfit for the Future
Discussed“His name is Julian Savulescu. Um he's head of the Centre for Practical Ethics at Oxford. And he wrote a book called Unfit for the Future.”
Where to get it
Books Jonathan Anomaly wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I should have put this in the first edition of my book. I did put it in the second edition, Thanks to you and her.”
“Here it is. Uh Creating Future People, the the science and ethics of genetic enhancement. And um you can buy the paperback.”