A quick visit with Diamond. I should point out that I’m not familiar with much more than Guns, Germs, And Steel which I read a while ago. One of the primary ideas motiviating Jared Diamond’s writing is that man’s relationship to nature is vital (I don’t suppose I disagree). However, he also makes some assumptions about that relationship with which I disagree.
There’s also an idea of moral equivalence between cultures in his work (and some kind of deep extension of humanism that is morally compelling), but it clearly this has its limits as well, and I suspect some roots in moral relativism, which of course is yet another Western idea.
Anyways, here’s a review of his Collapse.
***If you have more information about the New Yorker Lawsuit, and are not an interested party (or perhaps are), please respond should you feel inclined. I’m still inclined to give Diamond the benefit of the doubt.
Also On This Site: From Savage Minds: More On The Lawsuit Against Jared Diamond…From The Chronicle Of Higher Education: Jared Diamond’s Lawsuit…and: Jared Diamond: “Vengeance Is Ours” In The New Yorker
From The Chronicle Of Higher Ed Via A & L Daily: “Gaia In The Light Of Modern Science”
