Filled with more than eighty compelling and often humorous essays,
Prima Facie
explores a wide array of subjects-human nature, free will, war, evolution, religion, political correctness, death and taxes. Author Richard Thomas reflects on these subjects and his own life to determine why people act the way they do.
Thomas proposes three laws to explain human behavior:
Reciprocity
. This law states that everyone should have an equivalent exchange of goods for services rendered. We all want fair treatment from our associates.
The Leg Up
. This law claims that a person will climb over someone else to improve his situation or enforce his supposed superior status.
LCD
. This law maintains that humans tend to drag each other down to the lowest common denominator (LCD). One person cannot be better than someone else.
Thomas argues that the various systems we have created to control our interactions with one another have turned the human race from once fearful, huddling prey into predators who now stalk their own kind.
asks us to examine our own lives and beliefs, requires us to recognize the negative impact our everyday behavior has on others, and encourages us to take back responsibility for our destiny.