Wired for Culture
The Natural History of Human Cooperation
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
'Expresses an infectious sense of wonder at the uniqueness of our species; it is hard not to be affected by his enthusiasm' Sunday Times
What explains the staggering diversity of cultures in the world? Why are there so many languages, even within small areas? Why do we rejoice in rituals and wrap ourselves in flags? In Wired for Culture Mark Pagel, the world's leading expert on human development, reveals how our facility for culture is the key to what makes us who we are.
Shedding light on everything from art, morality and affection to jealousy, self-interest and prejudice, Pagel shows that we developed culture - cooperating together and passing on knowledge - in order to survive. Our minds are hardwired for culture, and it still determines how we speak, who we love, why we kill and what we think today.
'Human evolution may be the hottest area in popular science writing. Within this field, Wired for Culture stands out for both its sweeping erudition and its accessibility ... richly rewarding' Financial Times
'Impressive for its detail, accuracy and vivacity' Guardian
'Pioneering, vivid ... the best popular science book on culture so far' Nature
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"80,000 years ago... our genes undertook a remarkable gamble," writes Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading in England. Our genes "handed over control to ideas," and as a result, humans became the earth's dominant species. Culture became "a second great system of inheritance to stand alongside our genes a new way of transmitting information from one generation to the next, shortcutting the normal genetic routes of inheritance." Pagel does an excellent job of using evolutionary biology to discuss the origins of religion, music, and art, and the reasons why, cross-culturally, we generally share a sense of morality. One of the more provocative questions Pagel asks is, "Have we been domesticated by culture?" His answer is yes. Culture, he asserts, has altered us in much the same way we have altered wild canids, The technologies we've developed exploit our innate, genetically endowed abilities, but they require more domesticated skills such as mental agility rather than brute strength. Pagel also says that humans have a unique ability to cooperate. This ability, he explains, rather optimistically, allows us to overcome our evolutionary heritage and "makes us capable of moving beyond the divisive politics of race, ethnicity, and multiculturalism."
