The Social Conquest of Earth
#13 on NPR's Bestseller ListFrom the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career.Where did we come from? What are we? Where are we going? In a generational work of clarity and passion, one of our greatest living...
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#13 on NPR's Bestseller ListFrom the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career.Where did we come from? What are we? Where are we going? In a generational work of clarity and passion, one of our greatest living scientists directly addresses these three fundamental questions of religion, philosophy, and science while “overturning the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover magazine). Refashioning the story of human evolution in a work that is certain to generate headlines, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to show that group selection, not kin selection, is the primary driving force of human evolution. He proves that history makes no sense without prehistory, and prehistory makes no sense without biology. Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, Wilson presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earth’s biosphere. 90 illustrations
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780871404138 (0871404133)
Publish date: April 9th 2012
Publisher: Liveright
Pages no: 352
Edition language: English
bookshelves: nonfic-nov-2015, nonfiction, autumn-2015, art-forms, published-2012, nature, philosophy, sciences, history, ancient-history Read from November 19 to 20, 2015 Narrator: Jonathan HoganDescription: Where did we come from? What are we? Where are we going? In a generational work of clar...
This is a direct response from biologists on this book that Wilson dismissed theory without adequate research or evidence. Like that kind of academic fights that value the scientific truth over respect for the person and his bullshit. This is on my mind, as I was accused of not giving enough res...
A truly wonderful book. Wilson's choice of the most felicitous phrase illuminates this vastly informative book. I read Sociobiology years ago, and noted with interest and amusement the push back his ideas received from the owners of "conventional wisdom". And predictably enough, we see it again, ...
Naturalist and evolutionary scientist Edward O Wilson tackles the perennial questions of existence such as, "What is the meaning of life?", "How did homo sapiens become altruistic when individuals benefit more by being selfish?" and "Why are human societies so much like ant colonies?" Fascinating.
"Wow, Wilson has a lot to say and boy can he write."I've read a bunch of Richard Dawkins' books before this and Wilson's book is just icing on the cake. Wilson writes better than a poet and really has a lot to say that's interesting in the field.