3/11/2019 The Lucifer Principle - Wikipedia

The Lucifer Principle
The Lucifer Principle is a 1995 book by Howard Bloom, in which the author
argues that social groups, not individuals, are the primary "unit of selection" on
The Lucifer Principle: A
genes and human psychological development. He states that both competition
Scientific Expedition into
between groups and competition between individuals shape the evolution of
the Forces of History
the genome. 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".[1] It sees selection (i.e. through violent competition) as central to the
creation of the 'superorganism'[2] of society. It also focuses on competition
between individuals for position in the 'pecking order' 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. Says The  Lucifer  Principle: "Superorganism, ideas and the
pecking order...these are the primary forces behind much of human creativity
and earthly good."

Contents
Reception of the book
Bloom responds to Islamic issues Author Howard Bloom
References Subjects Sociology,
External links Evolution
Publisher Atlantic Monthly
Press
Reception of the book Publication January 1995
Reviews of the book[3] saw it as 'ambitious' and 'disturbing' in its conclusions
date
that societies based on individual freedom might succumb to systems such as Media type Print (Paperback)
bureaucratic communism or Islamic fundamentalism.[4][5] The  Washington Pages 466 (Paperback)
Post said that "Readers will be mesmerized by the mirror Bloom holds to the
ISBN 978-0-87113-532-2
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 in the Boston Globe termed it "a
string of rhetorical firecrackers that challenge our many forms of self-righteousness".

Bloom responds to Islamic issues
Bloom later wrote[6] 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He claimed that "Arab pressure groups asked ever so politely that The Lucifer Principle be withdrawn from print and that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 wrote to his publishers, warning of an author boycott if the book was pulled from the shelves. The

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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,[6] that what Bloom wrote about Islam in The  Lucifer  Principle is based on
expertise. Bloom is a frequent guest on Iran's Press-TV, Iran's Alalam-TV, Saudi Arabia's KSA-2-TV, and even on Syria's
Ekhbariya-TV.

References
1. Bloom, Howard. The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=YctWRSbQessC&dq=the+lucifer+principle&pg=PP1&ots=6m1sq6OkZV&sig=i35iyCLXn9pMRnK9kXzrXnhMCc
c&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?q=The+Lucifer+Principle&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:offi
cial&client=firefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail). Google Books. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
2. Bloom, Howard. "Superorganism" (http://www.howardbloom.net/lucifer/excerpt1.html) (Web article on book excerpt).
Retrieved 2007-12-30.
3. "Booktalk.Org" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070613194540/http://www.booktalk.org/lucifer-principle.php). Archived
from the original (http://www.booktalk.org/lucifer-principle.php) (Book review-from Publishers Weekly) on 2007-06-13.
Retrieved 2008-01-01.
4. Schultz, James. "Evil is it born or bred?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080228150357/http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-ne
ws/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950212/02080525.htm). The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original (http://scholar.lib.vt.
edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950212/02080525.htm) (Book review) on Feb 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
5. Bloom, Howard. "Islam's War Against the West" (http://www.howardbloom.net/islam.htm) (Book excerpt). Retrieved
2008-01-01.
6. Bloom, Howard. "Islamic Censorship — How Allah Has Nipped Your Right to Know" (http://www.thebirdman.org/Index/
Others/Others-Doc-Race&Groups-General/+Doc-Race&Groups-General-PC&Suppression&Censorship/IslamicInfluen
ce&CensorshipInTheWest.htm) (Web article originated April 2003 edition of Abuse Your Illusions). The Birdman.org.
Retrieved 2008-01-01.

External links
Official website (http://howardbloom.net/the-lucifer-principle/about-the-lucifer-principle/)
Muslim protests against The Lucifer Principle (https://web.archive.org/web/20071023065845/http://www.cafearabica.c
om/archive/issue1/sections/action/lucifer.html) at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2007)

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This page was last edited on 5 March 2019, at 17:12 (UTC).

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