The patchwork human : two billion years of evolution / Peter Luykx.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Luykx, Peter, 1937- author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human evolution.

Genetics.

Human evolution--Philosophy.

genetics.

Medical Subjects:

Genetics.

Physical Description:

ix, 274 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2022]

Summary:

"Life itself began about four billion years ago on our four-and-a-half-billion-year-old planet. Like an old patchwork quilt, evolution stitched the human being together from parts of ancient species now long extinct. Like any species, humans have hundreds or even thousands of traits that have been passed down through time. The evolutionary age of our different traits can be told from how widely distributed they are among today's living creatures. The book aims to explain some human traits and how we--as social, sexual, language-obsessed technological apes--evolved into our own modern species. Combining hard science with philosophical thought, this work aims to explain where humans have come from, and where we are going. Free of complicated jargon, it breaks down the concept of evolution starting with the human body's most basic component--our cells. Building from there, chapters explore which traits became inherited over evolutionary time, ultimately projecting what could be next for our species"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. The Human Machine

What Do People Think?

People versus Machines

Mind, Spirit, Soul

Matter

2. Cells, Genes, and Other Small Parts

Cells

Molecules Small and Large

Chromosomes, Genes, and Proteins

3. The Embryo: Construction and Continuity

Early Development

Continuity

4. Evolution: The Process

The Process of Evolution

Evolutionary Mechanisms

Adaptation and the Randomness and Purposelessness of Evolution

"For the good of the species"

Are We Still Evolving?

5. Evolution: The Pattern

Darwin's Tree

Evolutionary Genetics

Fossils

The Genus Homo and Its Ancestors

Sea Urchin Interview

6. Bigger Is Sometimes Better

7. Bilateral Symmetry

8. The Sexy Beast, Part I

The Biological Basics of Sex

Sperm and Egg Logic

The Mating Dance: The Logic of Fidelity and Promiscuity

9. Up the Mammalian Path

Origins

Mammary Glands and Milk

The Placenta

10. Fur

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

11. A Warm-Blooded Animal

Mechanisms

Evolution

12. Upright Living

Forelimbs and Hind Limbs

Fossil Evidence

13. The Brain

Brain Development and Structure

Some Comparisons

Aspects of Brain Evolution

Brain Function

14. The Sexy Beast, Part II

The Penis and the Vagina

External Testes

How Human Brain Size Influences the Mating System

Conspicuous Mammary Glands

Sex and Pleasure

Ovulation Now?

Monogamous or Polygamous?

Menopause

15. On Being Social

Basic Elements of Being Social

Teaching and Learning

Cooperation

Altruism

Mind-Reading, or Perspective-Taking

Evolutionary Origins of Sociality

16. The Truly Musical Animal

When?

How? The Muses Weigh In

As Part of Our Biology, Why Music?

17. The Talkative Ape

The Anatomy of Speech and Language

Features of Human Language

Precursors of Language in Animal Communications?

An Evolutionary Pathway for Language

18. Human Races, Real and Imagined

The Concept of Race

The Evolution of Human Races

Racial Prejudice

In Summary

19. The Future of the Only Remaining Human Species

Homo sapiens Forever

A New Species of Homo?

Extinction Once and For All

Slow Extinction by Climate Change.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781476686127

1476686122

OCLC:

1281246469

Publisher Number:

99991062114