Veneer theory is a term coined by Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal to label a view of human morality that he criticizes in his book "Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved". He uses the term to denote a concept that he rejects, namely that human morality is "a cultural overlay, a thin veneer hiding an otherwise selfish and brutish nature". The idea of the veneer theory goes back to Thomas Henry Huxley and has more recently been advocated by biologists like George C. Williams.
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Famous quotes containing the words veneer and/or theory:
“Courtesy is only a thin veneer on the general selfishness.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“The theory seems to be that so long as a man is a failure he is one of God’s chillun, but that as soon as he has any luck he owes it to the Devil.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)