The biological roots of human nature : forging links between evolution and behavior / Timothy H. Goldsmith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldsmith, Timothy H., author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociobiology.

Social behavior in animals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (176 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York ; Oxford University Press, 2023.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This monograph argues that biology has a great deal to say that should be of interest to social scientists, historians, philosophers and humanists in general. The author draws examples from neurobiology, psychology and ethology (behavioural evolution).

Contents:

Contents; 1. The Dual Nature of Causation in Biology; Proximate and ultimate cause and the nature of explanation; 2. Some Fallacies and Misconceptions; 3. Evolutionary Theory Since Darwin; Natural variation and its sources; Forces of evolutionary change; The sometimes elusive concepts of heritability, adaptation, and fitness; Some recent contributions to evolutionary theory particularly relevant for the study of behavior; 4. Reasoning about Ultimate Causes of Behavior; What is the meaning of sex?; The fundamental significance of parental investment

An argument about evolutionarily stable strategiesConcerning the language; Mating systems; Life-history strategies; What about the mating behavior of humans?; Parable or reality?; 5. Getting from Genes to Behavior; Instinct and the myth of ""Biological Determinism""; The ontogeny of behavior follows general principles of development; The other end of life: Why do we age and die?; 6. Evolutionary Perspectives on Volition, Learning, and Language; How do we know that behavior evolves?; Free will; Evolution and learning; Communication and language; 7. Decisions, Decisions!

Drives and the evolution of the vertebrate brainThe concept of behavioral scaling; Animals as decision makers; Decision makers as animals; 8. Culture, Anthropology, and Evolution; Coevolution of biology and culture: the ""leash effect""; Sociobiology and cultural materialism; The case of Tibetan fraternal polyandry; 9. Epilogue - Concerning ""Biological Reductionism""; Notes and References; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y

Notes:

Includes index.

Previously issued in print: 1991.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Derived record based on print version record and publisher information.

ISBN:

0-19-771179-0

1-280-52780-3

0-19-802282-4

0-19-535754-X

1-4294-0608-9

OCLC:

960165282