Search:

Results 11 to 20 of 555 | « previous |

The stone age present : how evolution has shaped modern life : from sex, violence, and language to emotions, morals, and communities / by Allman, William F.(CARDINAL)728461;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-269) and index.
Subjects: Evolutionary psychology.; Behavior evolution.; Human evolution.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

A dog's world : imagining the lives of dogs in a world without humans / by Pierce, Jessica,1965-author.(CARDINAL)343534; Bekoff, Marc,author.(CARDINAL)326872;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Imagining dogs in a world without humans -- The state of dogs -- The shape of the future -- Food and sex -- Family, friend, and foe -- The inner lives of posthuman dogs -- Doomsday prepping -- Would dogs be better off without us? -- The future of dogs and dogs of the future."What would happen to dogs if humans simply disappeared? Would dogs be able to survive on their own without the help of humans? Many people assume that dogs are so dependent on people that they could not and would not survive in a world without us. But is this true? And why does it matter to contemplate such a scenario? In this book, the authors argue that dogs would, as a species, survive without us and that imagining a world for dogs without humans allows us to explore a number of fascinating questions about the past, present, and future of dogs. The book opens by presenting the current state of dogs, including the surprising fact that of the c. 500 million dogs in the world only 20% are pets while the rest are street dogs, feral dogs, or strays, suggesting diversity in the ways which dogs exploit human habitats and by extension how they would fare without us. From there, the authors explore what is known about dog origins and their co-evolution with humans. The heart of the book draws on evolutionary biology to imagine what dogs might become, biologically, absent humans. For example, if dogs were no longer subjected to artificial selection pressures what would their evolutionary path look like? Would dogs become like their wolf ancestors? Would dogs maintain the evolved socio-cognitive skills that facilitate communication with humans? How would they interact with other animals? The authors conclude the book by asking whether dogs would be better or worse without humans, as imagining a world in which dogs are "wild" raises questions about pet keeping practices and about the costs of captivity for dogs. Ultimately, as the authors say, in thinking about who dogs might become without us we gain fresh insight into who dogs are on their own terms are and how our relationships with them can best benefit us both"--"From two of the world's leading authorities on dogs, an imaginative journey into a future of dogs without people. What would happen to dogs if humans simply disappeared? Would dogs be able to survive on their own without us? A Dog's World imagines a post-human future for dogs, revealing how dogs would survive-and possibly even thrive-and explaining how this new and revolutionary perspective can guide how we interact with dogs now.Drawing on biology, ecology, and the latest findings on the lives and behavior of dogs and their wild relatives, Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff-two of today's most innovative thinkers about dogs-explore who dogs might become without direct human intervention into breeding, arranged playdates at the dog park, regular feedings, and veterinary care. Pierce and Bekoff show how dogs are quick learners who are highly adaptable and opportunistic, and offer compelling evidence that dogs already do survive on their own-and could do so in a world without us.Challenging the notion that dogs would be helpless without their human counterparts, A Dog's World enables us to understand these independent and remarkably intelligent animals on their own terms"--
Subjects: Dogs; Dogs.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The secret of our success : how culture is driving human evolution, domesticating our species, and making us smarter / by Henrich, Joseph Patrick,author.(CARDINAL)528188;
"Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters, or avoiding predators. On the other hand, human groups have produced ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have permitted us to successfully expand into a vast range of diverse environments. What has enabled us to dominate the globe, more than any other species, while remaining virtually helpless as lone individuals? This book shows that the secret of our success lies not in our innate intelligence, but in our collective brains--on the ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another over generations. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscientific findings, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich demonstrates how our collective brains have propelled our species' genetic evolution and shaped our biology. Our early capacities for learning from others produced many cultural innovations, such as fire, cooking, water containers, plant knowledge, and projectile weapons, which in turn drove the expansion of our brains and altered our physiology, anatomy, and psychology in crucial ways. Later on, some collective brains generated and recombined powerful concepts, such as the lever, wheel, screw, and writing, while also creating the institutions that continue to alter our motivations and perceptions. Henrich shows how our genetics and biology are inextricably interwoven with cultural evolution, and how culture-gene interactions launched our species on an extraordinary evolutionary trajectory. Tracking clues from our ancient past to the present, The Secret of Our Success explores how the evolution of both our cultural and social natures produce a collective intelligence that explains both our species' immense success and the origins of human uniqueness."--Provided by publisher.Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-427) and index.
Subjects: Human evolution.; Social evolution.; Behavior evolution.; Cognition and culture.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Genesis : the deep origin of societies / by Wilson, Edward O.,author.(CARDINAL)138801; Kaspari, Debby Cotter,illustrator.(CARDINAL)608173;
Asserting that religious creeds and philosophical questions can be reduced to purely genetic and evolutionary components, and that the human body and mind have a physical base obedient to the laws of physics and chemistry, "Genesis" demonstrates that the only way for us to fully understand human behavior is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species. Of these, Wilson demonstrates that at least seventeen-among them the African naked mole rat and the sponge- dwelling shrimp-have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism and cooperation. Whether writing about midges who ٢dance about like acrobats٣ or schools of anchovies who protectively huddle ٢to appear like a gigantic fish,٣ or proposing that human society owes a debt of gratitude to ٢postmenopausal grandmothers٣ and ٢childless homosexuals,٣ "Genesis" is a pithy yet path-breaking work of evolutionary theory, braiding twenty-first-century scientific theory with the lyrical biological and humanistic observations for which Wilson is known.Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Animal behavior.; Behavior evolution.; Behavior genetics.; Social behavior in animals.; Animal societies.;
Available copies: 11 / Total copies: 14
unAPI

The neandertal enigma : solving the mystery of modern human origins / by Shreeve, James.(CARDINAL)717273;
Includes bibliographical references (page) and index.
Subjects: Neanderthals.; Human beings; Behavior evolution.; Human evolution.;
Available copies: 5 / Total copies: 6
unAPI

Roots of human behavior [videorecording] / by King, Barbara J.,1956-(CARDINAL)344579; Teaching Company.(CARDINAL)349444;
Accompanying course guidebook includes a glossary, anthropoid sketches, and annotated bibliography.Producer, James Blandford ; director, Tom Dunton ; editor, Sal Rodriguez.Lecturer: Barbara J. King, The College of William and Mary.Professor King delivers twelve 30-min. lectures exploring the evolutionary links humans share with monkeys and apes, and explains the significance of those links in understanding human behavior.DVD, NTSC, region 1.
Subjects: Educational films.; Lectures.; Nonfiction films.; Video recordings.; Anthropology.; Human behavior.; Human evolution.;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
unAPI

The goodness paradox : the strange relationship between virtue and violence in human evolution / by Wrangham, Richard W.,1948-author.(CARDINAL)753000;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-363) and index.Introduction: virtue and violence in human evolution -- The paradox -- Two types of aggression -- Human domestication -- Breeding peace -- Wild domesticates -- Belyaev's rule in human evolution -- The tyrant problem -- Capital punishment -- What domestication did -- The evolution of right and wrong -- Overwhelming power -- War -- Paradox lost."Highly accessible, authoritative, and intellectually provocative, a startlingly original theory of how Homo sapiens came to be: Richard Wrangham forcefully argues that, a quarter of a million years ago, rising intelligence among our ancestors led to a unique new ability with unexpected consequences: our ancestors invented socially sanctioned capital punishment, facilitating domestication, increased cooperation, the accumulation of culture, and ultimately the rise of civilization itself. Throughout history even as quotidian life has exhibited calm and tolerance war has never been far away, and even within societies violence can be a threat. The Goodness Paradox gives a new and powerful argument for how and why this uncanny combination of peacefulness and violence crystallized after our ancestors acquired language in Africa a quarter of a million years ago. Words allowed the sharing of intentions that enabled men effectively to coordinate their actions. Verbal conspiracies paved the way for planned conflicts and, most importantly, for the uniquely human act of capital punishment. The victims of capital punishment tended to be aggressive men, and as their genes waned, our ancestors became tamer. This ancient form of systemic violence was critical, not only encouraging cooperation in peace and war and in culture, but also for making us who we are: Homo sapiens"--
Subjects: Aggressiveness.; Human behavior.; Human evolution.;
Available copies: 4 / Total copies: 4
unAPI

The moral animal : evolutionary psychology and everyday life / by Wright, Robert,1957-(CARDINAL)345860;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 426-445) and index.
Subjects: Behavior evolution.; Genetic psychology.; Human behavior.; Sociobiology.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The selfish gene / by Dawkins, Richard,1941-(CARDINAL)329893;
Bibliography: pages 217-220.
Subjects: Behavior genetics.; Evolution (Biology); Genetics.;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 3
unAPI

How many friends does one person need? : Dunbar's number and other evolutionary quirks / by Dunbar, R. I. M.(Robin Ian MacDonald),1947-;
In the beginning -- The monogamous brain -- Dunbar's number -- Kith and kin -- The ancestors that still haunt us -- Bonds that bind -- Why gossip is good for you -- Scars of evolution -- Who'd mess with evolution? -- The darwin wars -- So near, and yet so far -- Farewell, cousins -- Stone age psychology -- Natural minds -- How to join the culture club -- Be smart-- live longer -- Beautiful science -- Are you lonesome tonight? -- Eskimos rub noses -- Your cheating heart -- Morality on the brain -- How evolution found God.
Subjects: Evolution.; Human behavior.; Social psychology.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
unAPI

Results 11 to 20 of 555 | « previous |