Download or read book The Human Instinct written by Kenneth R. Miller and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A radical, optimistic exploration of how humans evolved to develop reason, consciousness, and free will. Lately, the most passionate advocates of the theory of evolution seem to present it as bad news. Scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Sam Harris tell us that our most intimate actions, thoughts, and values are mere byproducts of thousands of generations of mindless adaptation. We are just one species among multitudes, and therefore no more significant than any other living creature. Now comes Brown University biologist Kenneth R. Miller to make the case that this view betrays a gross misunderstanding of evolution. Natural selection surely explains how our bodies and brains were shaped, but Miller argues that it’s not a social or cultural theory of everything. In The Human Instinct, he rejects the idea that our biological heritage means that human thought, action, and imagination are pre-determined, describing instead the trajectory that ultimately gave us reason, consciousness and free will. A proper understanding of evolution, he says, reveals humankind in its glorious uniqueness—one foot planted firmly among all of the creatures we’ve evolved alongside, and the other in the special place of self-awareness and understanding that we alone occupy in the universe. Equal parts natural science and philosophy, The Human Instinct is a moving and powerful celebration of what it means to be human.

Download or read book Beyond Revenge written by Michael McCullough and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-03-31 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is revenge such a pervasive and destructive problem? How can we create a future in which revenge is less common and forgiveness is more common? Psychologist Michael McCullough argues that the key to a more forgiving, less vengeful world is to understand the evolutionary forces that gave rise to these intimately human instincts and the social forces that activate them in human minds today. Drawing on exciting breakthroughs from the social and biological sciences, McCullough dispenses surprising and practical advice for making the world a more forgiving place. Michael E. McCullough (Miami, Florida), an internationally recognized expert on forgiveness and revenge, is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he directs the Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology.

Download or read book The Art Instinct written by Denis Dutton and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2009 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dinka have a connoisseur's appreciation of the patterns and colours of the markings on their cattle. The Japanese tea ceremony is regarded as a performance art. Some cultures produce carving but no drawing; others specialize in poetry. Yet despite the rich variety of artistic expression to be found across many cultures, we all share a deep sense of aesthetic pleasure. The need to create art of some form is found in every human society.In The Art Instinct, Denis Dutton explores the idea that this need has an evolutionary basis: how the feelings that we all share when we see a wonderful landscape or a beautiful sunset evolved as a useful adaptation in our hunter-gather ancestors, and have been passed on to us today, manifest in our artistic natures. Why do people indulge in displaying their artistic skills? How can we understand artistic genius? Why do we value art, and what is it for? These questions have long been asked by scholars in the humanities and in literature, but this is the first book to consider the biological basis of this deep human need.This sparking and intelligent book looks at these deep and fundamental questions, and combines the science of evolutionary psychology with aesthetics, to shed new light on longstanding questions about the nature of art.

Download or read book The Faith Instinct written by Nicholas Wade and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-11-12 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Noted science writer Nicholas Wade offers for the first time a convincing case based on a broad range of scientific evidence for the evolutionary basis of religion.

Download or read book Human Instinct written by Lord Robert Winston and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-05-31 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From caveman to modern man ... Few people doubt that humans are descended from the apes; fewer still consider, let alone accept, the psychological implications. But in truth, man not only looks, moves and breathes like an ape, he also thinks like one. Sexual drive, survival, competition, aggression - all of our impulses are driven by our human instincts. They explain why a happily married man will fantasize about the pretty, slim, young woman sitting across from him in the tube and why thousands of people spend their week entirely focused on whether their team will win their next crucial match. But how well do our instincts equip us for the twenty-first century? Do they help or hinder us as we deal with large anonymous cities, stressful careers, relationships and the battle of the sexes? In this fascinating book, Robert Winston takes us on a journey deep into the human mind. Along the way he takes a very personal look at the relationship between science and religion and explores those very instincts that make us human.

Download or read book The Social Instinct written by Nichola Raihani and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Enriching" —Publisher's Weekly "Excellent and illuminating"—Wall Street Journal In the tradition of Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene, Nichola Raihani's The Social Instinct is a profound and engaging look at the hidden relationships underpinning human evolution, and why cooperation is key to our future survival. Cooperation is the means by which life arose in the first place. It’s how life progressed through scale and complexity, from free-floating strands of genetic material to nation states. But given what we know about evolution, cooperation is also something of a puzzle. How does cooperation begin, when on a Darwinian level, all the genes in the body care about is being passed on to the next generation? Why do meerkats care for one another’s offspring? Why do babbler birds in the Kalahari form colonies in which only a single pair breeds? And how come some reef-dwelling fish punish each other for harming fish from another species? A biologist by training, Raihani looks at where and how collaborative behavior emerges throughout the animal kingdom, and what problems it solves. She reveals that the species that exhibit cooperative behaviour most similar to our own tend not to be other apes; they are birds, insects, and fish, occupying far more distant branches of the evolutionary tree. By understanding the problems they face, and how they cooperate to solve them, we can glimpse how human cooperation first evolved. And we can also understand what it is about the way we cooperate that makes us so distinctive–and so successful.

Download or read book The Human Instinct written by Kenneth R. Miller and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of America’s best-known biologists, a revolutionary new way of thinking about evolution that shows “why, in light of our origins, humans are still special” (Edward J. Larson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evolution). Once we had a special place in the hierarchy of life on Earth—a place confirmed by the literature and traditions of every human tribe. But then the theory of evolution arrived to shake the tree of human understanding to its roots. To many of the most passionate advocates for Darwin’s theory, we are just one species among multitudes, no more significant than any other. Even our minds are not our own, they tell us, but living machines programmed for nothing but survival and reproduction. In The Human Instinct, Brown University biologist Kenneth R. Miller “confronts both lay and professional misconceptions about evolution” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), showing that while evolution explains how our bodies and brains were shaped, that heritage does not limit or predetermine human behavior. In fact, Miller argues in this “highly recommended” (Forbes) work that it is only thanks to evolution that we have the power to shape our destiny. Equal parts natural science and philosophy, The Human Instinct makes an “absorbing, lucid, and engaging…case that it was evolution that gave us our humanity” (Ursula Goodenough, professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis).

Download or read book Instinct Environment and Behaviour Psychology Revivals written by Stephen Lea and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2015-03-27 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What can the evolution of animal behaviour tell us about human behaviour? More specifically, how good an account of animal behaviour can we give in terms of evolution, and how do humans fit in with or deviate from the pattern established for other animals? The biological approach to the study of animal behaviour has important implications for psychology, but it is distinctly different. Originally published in 1984, this book provides a basic introduction to biological theories about behaviour, from the classic ethological tradition of Lorenz and Tinbergen to the later sociobiological approach. The principles of experimentation and research involved are assessed critically, especially with regard to their implications for the study of human behaviour. Written specifically for those with little biological knowledge, this book will still be of interest to students of biology and introductory psychology alike.

Download or read book Insect Learning written by Daniel R. Papaj and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insect Learning is a comprehensive review of a new field. Until recently, insects were viewed as rigidly programmed automatons; now, however, it is recognized that they can learn and that their behavior is plastic. This fundamental change in viewpoint is causing a re-examination of all aspects of the relationship between insects and their environment. This change in perspective is occurring at a time of heightened interest in brain function in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Insects potentially play a major role in this expanding area. Because of their experimental tractability and genetic diversity, they provide unique opportunities for testing hypotheses on the ecology and evolution of learning. As organisms of economic importance, they are perennial objects of research by both basic and applied scientists. Insect Learning covers both social and non-social insects from multiple perspectives. The book covers mechanisms; syntheses of work on physiology, behavior, and ecology; and micro- and macroevolution. The concluding section discusses future directions for research, including applications to pest management.

Download or read book Intended Evolution written by Dongxun Zhang and published by Greenleaf Book Group. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover a new outlook on the process of life—and improve your health as a result In Intended Evolution, authors Dongxun and Bob Zhang introduce a different perspective on the theory of evolution: Life is not only selected by nature but intentionally interacts with it, learning how to better its future. They explain that applying this idea to generally accepted principles of biology can have startling results in your ability to affect your own health—and even your evolution. According to the theory of intended evolution, organisms gather information through sensory experience and use that knowledge to effect change in themselves and their environments. The authors propose that organisms use this saved information to make choices projected to enhance their survival. It is through experience, choices, and action, within a given environment, that life changes itself from moment to moment and determines what changes are needed for future generations. Because of humans’ unique ability to understand how our own evolution functions, we can effect changes within ourselves to influence and enhance our health and fitness, even to lengthen our lifespan.

Download or read book The Language Instinct written by Steven Pinker and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-12-14 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A brilliant, witty, and altogether satisfying book." — New York Times Book Review The classic work on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind In The Language Instinct, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published.

Download or read book The Interactional Instinct written by Namhee Lee and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-05-21 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Interactional Instinct explores the evolution of language from the theoretical view that language could have emerged without a biologically instantiated Universal Grammar. In the first part of the book, the authors speculate that a hominid group with a lexicon of about 600 words could combine these items to make larger meanings. Combinations that are successfully produced, comprehended, and learned become part of the language. Any combination that is incompatible with human mental capacities is abandoned. The authors argue for the emergence of language structure through interaction constrained by human psychology and physiology. In the second part of the book, the authors argue that language acquisition is based on an "interactional instinct" that emotionally entrains the infant on caregivers. This relationship provides children with a motivational and attentional mechanism that ensures their acquisition of language. In adult second language acquisition, the interactional instinct is no longer operating, but in some individuals with sufficient aptitude and motivation, successful second-language acquisition can be achieved. The Interactional Instinct presents a theory of language based on linguistic, evolutionary, and biological evidence indicating that language is a culturally inherited artifact that requires no a priori hard wiring of linguistic knowledge.

Download or read book The Patterning Instinct written by Jeremy R. Lent and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2017 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Explores key patterns of meaning underlying various cultures, from ancient times to the present, showing how values emerge from the ways in which cultures find meaning and how those values shape the future"--

Download or read book Evolution of instinct written by Kunio Iwata and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Instinct written by Rebecca Heiss and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revolutionary approach to unlockingyour innate ability to achieve success in business and in life. Why do we constantly feel overwhelmed by stress, dissatisfied in our careers and relationships, and lacking in real purpose? Why do we seem to sabotage ourselves, hampering our productivity and success? The answer lies in our instincts . . . In every area of life, from business to relationships to health, we act on outdated instincts that were built to help us survive a world ruled by scarcity and danger. But in today’s world, those same instincts stop us from succeeding in the environment in which we actually live: a diverse world of abundant choices, and almost limitless connections. Now evolutionary biologist Dr. Rebecca Heiss offers a new approach that harnesses the power of our instincts, and redirects them to work for us rather than against us. Dr. Heiss reveals the science behind our self-sabotaging behaviors, then provides simple, actionable techniques that can rebuild our instinctive minds. Both practical and inspiring, Instinct is a roadmap that anyone can use to finally stop living on autopilot, improve productivity and happiness, and consciously craft a better life.

Download or read book From instinct To Identity written by Breger and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Instinct to Identity begins an account of personalitydevelopment by tracing the legacy of the human speciesfrom its primate heritage to its present form. Findingsfrom ethology, primate studies, linguistics, and othersources are used to construct an account of the uniquefeatures of man. Th e evolution of early cultures is shownthrough use of anthropological work. The ideas of Sigmund Freud, particularly as modifi edby Erik Erikson, are presented together with the theoriesand fi ndings of Jean Piaget and his collaborators in a seriesof chapters that follow the person from infancy to adolescence.Other chapters examine play, dreams, and fantasy;anxiety and its eff ects on the development of self; moraldevelopment; and identity. Th e emphasis throughout ison the growth of self, and its impact on social norms. The author blends together theories and findingsfrom psychoanalysis, psychology, ethology, humanisticpsychology, and child development, develops a model ofhuman motivation in which the basic emotional systemsof love, anxiety, aggression, curiosity and intelligence aretraced from their primate background through the humanlife cycle. He brings together classic ideas on guilt andconscience with research on moral reasoning and egodevelopment,and clarifi es diffi cult ideas in a clear, directprose style. This classic volume, now available in paperbackwith a new introduction by the author, will fi nd a newaudience among anthropologists as well as psychologistsinterested in the evolution of human behavior. Louis Breger is professor of psychoanalyticstudies emeritus at the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology in Pasadena.He is a practicing psychotherapist andpsychoanalyst, and is the founding presidentof the Institute of ContemporaryPsychoanalysis, Los Angeles. He haswritten other books and a number ofscholarly articles on psychoanalytic topicsincluding the acclaimed biography, Freud:Darkness in the Midst of Vision, and Dostoevsky: The Author asPsychoanalyst.

Download or read book The Study of Instinct written by Nikolaas Tinbergen and published by Pygmalion Press, an imprint of Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2020-12-24 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1951, The Study of Instinct is widely considered the foundational text of ethology, the study of natural behavior. Written to introduce the largely German literature of the early ethologists to an English-speaking audience, Tinbergen first describes the objectives, scope, and limitations of ethology, then goes on to describe the influence of external stimuli and internal factors on behavior, proposes his famous hierarchical-motivational model for the control of behavior, and ends with accounts of the development, adaptiveness, and evolution of behavior, including human behavior. The volume remains a classic and is often cited in the opening sentence of modern papers on behavior. “... all in all, I think most students will learn more from the seemingly timeless Study of Instinct than from this or any other retrospective.” – Gould 1992, Science “A few parts of the book still strike one as modern. The opening chapter, in which Tinbergen formulates his famous ‘four questions’ about animal behaviour (questions about mechanism, development, adaptiveness and evolution), and discusses the extent to which they are logically separate yet practically interrelated, should be read by every student taking a course in ethology. The section entitled ‘Learning Processes’ is a small masterpiece, prefiguring the ‘constraints on learning’ debate by 20 years and describing Tinbergen’s own classic work on learning in herring gulls and digger wasps... The Study of Instinct still has important general messages for anyone studying ethology; it will always be a significant book for historians of science; and it gives a first-hand account of some of the most important research that has been done on animal behaviour.” – Roper 1989, Trends in Ecology & Evolution “Tinbergen’s book is a positive requirement for all students of behavior. It is most refreshing and stimulating account of some of the important contributions European scholars have been making to the study of instincts, a field of behavior sorely neglected in American psychology today... There is no question but that Tinbergen’s book is an important contribution to the study of behavior.” – Steller 1976, The Quarterly Review of Biology “A well-reasoned and thoroughly readable book which points up the complexity of even the simplest unlearned behavior.” – Thomson 1952, Scientific American “Dr Tinbergen’s book is an admirably clear, authoritative and factual account of recent work on animal instinct which can be strongly recommended to students of biology, both elementary and advanced, as giving a first hand account of the main trends of modern field research into animal behaviour.” – Thorpe 1954, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science “American psychology has concentrated more and more during this century on the behavior of mammals, and even among mammals has restricted itself mostly to primates (man, chimpanzee, macaque) and a cheap primate substitute, the rat (which is not studied for its rattiness, so to speak, but as a bearer of anxiety and a maker of cognitive maps)... The importance of Tinbergen’s book is that it presents systematically a large amount of significant work by the European school of biologists, making it accessible to the English-speaking reader. The dominance of learning theory in America, established by Thorndike, Holt, and Watson, makes us persistently forget the constitutional factor in behavior (that is, instinct), and this book may help bring it to the graduate student’s attention even if his instructors are by now too set in their ways to give it the attention it deserves... The style is somewhat academic, but the book is full of fascinating, and solidly authenticated, observations of animal behavior. It should be read by everyone, psychologist or zoologist, who is interested in mechanisms of response.” – Hebb 1952, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology “[This volume] summarizes much ingenious experimental work and present a point of view that is bound to have an influence on later behavior studies.” – Carmichael 1952, Science “[This] is an important book and one that should be read by all students of animal behavior... The ingenious experiments and theoretical discussions will afford many hours of stimulating reading.” – Aronson 1953, Copeia “... a scholarly and well-documented review of the general field [of ethology]... This books performs a beautiful job of pulling together diverse and diverging observations, experiments and concepts, suggesting theories that will surely lead to much new and fruitful work.” – Bates 1953, American Anthropologist “Tinbergen’s fine book is an important synthesis and a valuable introduction to this actively moving field.” – Greenberg 1952, Physiological Zoology “The final impression one gets from Tinbergen’s book is that of the immense richness and incredible variety of behavioral phenomena which are there for the studying if we break out of our rat-monkey-man triangle.” – O’Kelly 1952, Psychological Bulletin “It is a pleasure to describe and discuss Tinbergen’s work. Well written, with elegant development of ideas and arguments, courageous in challenging faulty views and procedures, calm and confident in style, yet stimulating, the book should be read by anyone interested in the behavior of birds.” – Pitelka 1953, The Condor