David Barash | Wall Street Journal
Of all the alternative names that have been suggested for our species (out of which Linnaeus somehow chose Homo sapiens, “the wise”), maybe the most appropriate would be Homo narcissus, since we seem to delight so much in gazing at our own reflections. Like the Greek youth who fell in love with his own image, human beings have long been obsessed about what makes us so much “better” than other animals.
Given that we are undeniably smart, and in view of the fact that our brains are quite large, it long seemed reasonable to . . .
