The Ape that Understood the Universe
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 behaviour, our child-rearing patterns, our moral codes, our religions, languages, and science? The Ape that Understood the Universe tackles these issues by drawing on ideas from 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.
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
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 behaviour, 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.
| Pm Supplier | CUP/ Cambridge University Press |
|---|---|
| Pm Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Pm Isbn 10 | 1108732755 |
| Pm Isbn 13 | 9781108732758 |
| Pm Publication Date | 2019-11-21 |
| Pm Author | Stewart-Williams,Steve, Shermer,Michael |
| Pm Longness | 0 |
- How the Mind and Culture Evolve
- Key Info: no illustrations
- Author: Stewart-Williams,Steve, Shermer,Michael
- Page Count: 368
- Publication Date: 2019-11-21
The Ape that Understood the Universe
- How the Mind and Culture Evolve
- Key Info: no illustrations
- Author: Stewart-Williams,Steve, Shermer,Michael
- Page Count: 368
- Publication Date: 2019-11-21
