The Ape that Understood the Universe

How the Mind and Culture Evolve
Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-1-108-73275-8
Verlag: Cambridge University Pr.

Buch, Englisch, 386 Seiten, Format (B × H): 154 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 585 g

The Ape that Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our altruistic tendencies, and our culture? The book tackles these issues by drawing on two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory. The guiding assumption is that humans are animals, and that like all animals, we evolved to pass on our genes. At some point, however, we also evolved the capacity for culture - and from that moment, culture began evolving in its own right. This transformed us from a mere ape into an ape capable of reshaping the planet, travelling to other worlds, and understanding the vast universe of which we're but a tiny, fleeting fragment. Featuring a new foreword by Michael Shermer.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Stewart-Williams, Steve

Shermer, Michael

Weitere Mitwirkende

Shermer, Michael

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Sozialpsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Theorie, Psychoanalyse Humanistische Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Entwicklungspsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Kognitionspsychologie Emotion, Motivation, Handlung
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Evolutionsbiologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologie: Sachbuch, Ratgeber
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologische Disziplinen Sexualpsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Biologische Psychologie, Neuropsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. The alien's challenge; 2. Darwin comes to mind; 3. The SeXX/XY animal; 4. The dating, mating, baby-making animal; 5. The altruistic animal; 6. The cultural animal; Appendix A: how to win an argument with a blank slater; Appendix B: how to win an argument with an anti-memeticist.

Über Autor(innen)

Stewart-Williams, Steve
Steve Stewart-Williams is an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus. His research and writing revolve around the idea that theories from evolutionary biology can shed light on the human mind and behavior, focusing especially on sex differences and altruism. He also has a long-standing interest in the philosophical implications of evolutionary theory. His first book, Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life (Cambridge), was published in 2010.