The Human Beast: ...through the Lens of Evolution

The Human Beast: ...through the Lens of Evolution PDF Author: Nigel Barber
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780985569129
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
The Human Beast scrutinizes riddles of human psychology through the lens of evolutionary theory. The book offers many surprising takes on everyday behavior. It appeals to a broad range of readers.

The Human Beast: ...through the Lens of Evolution

The Human Beast: ...through the Lens of Evolution PDF Author: Nigel Barber
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780985569129
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
The Human Beast scrutinizes riddles of human psychology through the lens of evolutionary theory. The book offers many surprising takes on everyday behavior. It appeals to a broad range of readers.

Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love

Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love PDF Author: Elizabeth A. Johnson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472903730
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
An examination of the relationship between faith in God and the concept of ecological care within a crisis of biodiversity

Beast-People Onscreen and in Your Brain

Beast-People Onscreen and in Your Brain PDF Author: Mark Pizzato
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
A new take on our bio-cultural evolution explores how the "inner theatre" of the brain and its "animal-human stages" are reflected in and shaped by the mirror of cinema. Vampire, werewolf, and ape-planet films are perennial favorites—perhaps because they speak to something primal in human nature. This intriguing volume examines such films in light of the latest developments in neuroscience, revealing ways in which animal-human monster movies reflect and affect what we naturally imagine in our minds. Examining specific films as well as early cave images, the book discusses how certain creatures on rock walls and movie screens express animal-to-human evolution and the structures of our brains. The book presents a new model of the human brain with its theatrical, cinematic, and animal elements. It also develops a theory of "rasa-catharsis" as the clarifying of emotions within and between spectators of the stage or screen, drawing on Eastern and Western aesthetics as well as current neuroscience. It focuses on the "inner movie theater" of memories, dreams, and reality representations, involving developmental stages, as well as the "hall of mirrors," ape-egos, and body-swapping identifications between human beings. Finally, the book shows how ironic twists onscreen—especially of contradictory emotions—might evoke a reappraisal of feelings, helping spectators to be more attentive to their own impulses. Through this interdisciplinary study, scholars, artists, and general readers will find a fresh way to understand the potential for interactive mindfulness and yet cathartic backfire between human brains—in cinema, in theater, and in daily life.

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Language, Art and Cultural Exchange (ICLACE 2024)

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Language, Art and Cultural Exchange (ICLACE 2024) PDF Author: Chaoqun Shen
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 2384762656
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description


The Evolution of Beauty

The Evolution of Beauty PDF Author: Richard O. Prum
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385537220
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, SMITHSONIAN, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful"—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world. In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature? Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum—reviving Darwin's own views—thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In thirty years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it—is an independent engine of evolutionary change. Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time. The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.

The Science of Romance

The Science of Romance PDF Author: Nigel Barber
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615927204
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
...excellent: accurate, entertaining and thought-provoking... - American ScientistVirtually anyone interested in gender studies, human sexuality, the application of evolutionary theory to behavior, or psychology in general should consider this fascinating book must reading. - BooklistIn this work on how evolution affects how we behave in the romantic and sexual realms, the author . . . kicks away Cupid in favor of Darwin and the result is fascinating . . . . Barber is seemingly inexhaustible when it comes to diversity of thought . . . . His accessible and lively writing keeps the book from feeling too wide-ranging and scholarly. . . . those who don''t mind considering that romantic inclinations may be in one''s genes and not in one''s heart will find much to chew on in this weighty addition to the field of evolutionary psychology. -ForeWord MagazineNigel Barber is one of the most innovative and intriguing investigators currently writing in the field of evolutionary psychology. His insights are always novel and provocative, challenging our preconceptions and encouraging us to consider alternative perspectives on gender differences and romantic and sexual behavior. His observations are certain to generate discussion from scientists, and from anyone who has ever been mystified by love. - Michael Cunningham, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Louisville, and President, International Network on Personal RelationshipsRecent advances in evolutionary psychology and biology have revolutionized the understanding of human courtship, marriage, and relationships. The Science of Romance provides an accessible and entertaining look at this new research and explores many of the implications for sexual and romantic relationships. The book is a pleasure to read and is highly recommended to the reader who wishes to better understand human relationships or wants an introduction to evolutionary psychology. - David C. Geary, Ph.D., Middlebush Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri at Columbia, and author of Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex DifferencesA gripping book throughout--scientifically sound and wonderfully illustrated with real life examples; must reading for everyone concerned with human mating, which is just about everyone. - David M. Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human MatingHave you ever wondered why divorce is so much more common now than a century ago? Why the sex appeal of certain body types and clothing styles changes so dramatically over time? Why so many liberated young women today prefer emotional commitment from men while their male counterparts seem always more interested in sowing their wild oats?According to evolutionary psychologist Nigel Barber, each of these aspects of modern life reflects two million years of hominid evolution. In The Science of Romance he explains that much of our present behavior can be traced back to the ancient evolved motives of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. In short, we exhibit the behaviors that have evolved over millennia to increase the reproductive success of the species. Also drawing on the mating behavior of various animals, Barber finds illuminating comparisons that help to explain human actions and reactions.Barber delves into a host of interesting topics: dating competition and aggression; female courtship signals that subtly manipulate male behavior; how exposure to different sex hormones shapes the evolving brain in utero, which may account for the different behaviors of men and women; and much more.This absorbing book educates and entertains, while showing that many seemingly irrational aspects of our intimate romantic behavior make sense when understood in terms of our prehistoric ancestors and evolution.Nigel Barber, Ph.D. (Portland, ME), formerly an assistant professor of psychology at Birmingham-Southern College, is now a freelance writer and researcher, and the author of Why Parents Matter: Parental Investment and Child

The Evolution of Social Communication in Primates

The Evolution of Social Communication in Primates PDF Author: Marco Pina
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319026690
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
How did social communication evolve in primates? In this volume, primatologists, linguists, anthropologists, cognitive scientists and philosophers of science systematically analyze how their specific disciplines demarcate the research questions and methodologies involved in the study of the evolutionary origins of social communication in primates in general and in humans in particular. In the first part of the book, historians and philosophers of science address how the epistemological frameworks associated with primate communication and language evolution studies have changed over time and how these conceptual changes affect our current studies on the subject matter. In the second part, scholars provide cutting-edge insights into the various means through which primates communicate socially in both natural and experimental settings. They examine the behavioral building blocks by which primates communicate and they analyze what the cognitive requirements are for displaying communicative acts. Chapters highlight cross-fostering and language experiments with primates, primate mother-infant communication, the display of emotions and expressions, manual gestures and vocal signals, joint attention, intentionality and theory of mind. The primary focus of the third part is on how these various types of communicative behavior possibly evolved and how they can be understood as evolutionary precursors to human language. Leading scholars analyze how both manual and vocal gestures gave way to mimetic and imitational protolanguage and how the latter possibly transitioned into human language. In the final part, we turn to the hominin lineage, and anthropologists, archeologists and linguists investigate what the necessary neurocognitive, anatomical and behavioral features are in order for human language to evolve and how language differs from other forms of primate communication.

Space Civilization

Space Civilization PDF Author: James Gilley
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498592139
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
As humanity begins to move in earnest towards becoming a multiplanetary civilization, the social science questions of what will be required of that civilization begin to emerge. This work seeks to highlight these questions and to provide some answers about the economic, political, and social predicaments of space civilization.

Join the Club

Join the Club PDF Author: Tina Rosenberg
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
ISBN: 1848313365
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
In the style of Nudge or The Spirit Level - a groundbreaking book that will change the way you look at the world. Tina Rosenberg has spent her career tackling some of the world's hardest problems. The Haunted Land, her searing book on how Eastern Europe faced the crimes of Communism, was awarded both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in the US. In Join the Club, she identifies a brewing social revolution that is changing the way people live, based on harnessing the positive force of peer pressure. Her stories of peer power in action show how it has reduced teen smoking in the United States, made villages in India healthier and more prosperous, helped minority students get top grades in college calculus, and even led to the fall of Slobodan Milosevic. She tells how creative social entrepreneurs are starting to use peer pressure to accomplish goals as personal as losing weight and as global as fighting terrorism. Inspiring and engrossing, Join the Club explains how we can better our world through humanity's most powerful and abundant resource: our connections with one another.

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior PDF Author: Peter B. Gray
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674074394
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Few things come more naturally to us than sex—or so it would seem. Yet to a chimpanzee, the sexual practices and customs we take for granted would appear odd indeed. He or she might wonder why we bother with inconveniences like clothes, why we prefer to make love on a bed, and why we fuss so needlessly over privacy. Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior invites us into the thought-experiment of imagining human sex from the vantage point of our primate cousins, in order to underscore the role of evolution in shaping all that happens, biologically and behaviorally, when romantic passions are aroused. Peter Gray and Justin Garcia provide an interdisciplinary synthesis that draws on the latest discoveries in evolutionary theory, genetics, neuroscience, comparative primate research, and cross-cultural sexuality studies. They are our guides through an exploration of the patterns and variations that exist in human sexuality, in chapters covering topics ranging from the evolution of sex differences and reproductive physiology to the origins of sexual play, monogamous unions, and the facts and fictions surrounding orgasm. Intended for generally curious readers of all stripes, this up-to-date, one-volume survey of the evolutionary science of human sexual behavior explains why sexuality has remained a core fascination of human beings throughout time and across cultures.