Carl Coon

From Philosopedia

Coon, Carl [Ambassador] (27 April 1927— )

Carleton S. Coon Jr., son of a noted anthropologist Carleton Coon, was born in Paris. He graduated from Harvard with an A.B. in 1949.

He served in many places and had many assignments, mostly in the Middle East and South Asia. His most recent foreign assignment was as Ambassador to Nepal (1981-84). He retired in 1985 and has traveled widely since then. He has written two books (Culture Wars and the Global Village and One Planet, One People, Beyond "Us versus Them" ) plus two small collections of essays ("Creatures of the Earth and the Mind," and "Sic Transit"), plus a travelogue (From the Heartland).

One Planet, One People, Beyond "Us vs. Them" (2004) includes his anthropological and evolutionary psychological views about the evolution of human society. As described by his publisher, he "traces the evolution of the human tendency to divide others into two groups, 'us versus them.' People tend instinctively to behave altruistically toward members of their own in-group and to react with suspicion, or even hostility, toward outsiders.” He points out that complex human societies became possible only when cultural attitudes encouraged individuals to define their in-groups in more expansive ways. Thus, small, kin-based bands grew into villages, kingdoms, and eventually, the moden nation-state. Today, he argues, we have reached a stage where the whole world must be viewed as 'us,' for only a united world community can cope with current global challenges."

Coon currently serves as Vice-President of the American Humanist Association (AHA.

“Yes, Carleton Coon was my father," he told a reporter when describing his atheism. "Growing up listening to him sound off gave me a head start toward becoming a full-fledged humanist.”