Beyond Human Nature

2012-01-26 Philosophy

Author : Jesse J Prinz
Release : 2012-01-26
Genre : Philosophy
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 724/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Human Nature by : Jesse J Prinz

Download or read book Beyond Human Nature written by Jesse J Prinz. This book was released on 2012-01-26. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative, revelatory tour de force, Jesse Prinz reveals how the cultures we live in - not biology - determine how we think and feel. He examines all aspects of our behaviour, looking at everything from our intellects and emotions, to love and sex, morality and even madness. This book seeks to go beyond traditional debates of nature and nurture. He is not interested in finding universal laws but, rather, in understanding, explaining and celebrating our differences. Why do people raised in Western countries tend to see the trees before the forest, while people from East Asia see the forest before the trees? Why, in South East Asia, is there a common form of mental illness, unheard of in the West, in which people go into a trancelike state after being startled? Compared to Northerners, why are people in the American South more than twice as likely to kill someone over an argument? And, above all, just how malleable are we? Prinz shows that the vast diversity of our behaviour is not engrained. He picks up where biological explanations leave off. He tells us the human story.

Beyond Human Nature

2014-03-01 Psychology

Author : Jesse J. Prinz
Release : 2014-03-01
Genre : Psychology
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 890/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Human Nature by : Jesse J. Prinz

Download or read book Beyond Human Nature written by Jesse J. Prinz. This book was released on 2014-03-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning cognitive scientist describes how the influence of experience and culture can override DNA in an attempt to shatter the myth that illness and addiction are unavoidable as dictated by genetic composition. 15,000 first printing.

Beyond Human Nature

2013-02-26 Philosophy

Author : Jesse J Prinz
Release : 2013-02-26
Genre : Philosophy
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 344/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Human Nature by : Jesse J Prinz

Download or read book Beyond Human Nature written by Jesse J Prinz. This book was released on 2013-02-26. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We are constantly told that human traits - from aggression to gender differences - are 'hardwired'. In Beyond Human Nature Jesse J. Prinz reveals that it is the societies we live in, not our genes, that determine how we think and feel. From why mental illness differs so widely between cultures to how geography influences morals, from our sexual preferences to how we learn languages, he proves that the vast diversity of behaviour is not ingrained. This is a book about humanity's power to transcend nature; and one that, ultimately, celebrates our differences. Jesse J. Prinz is currently a Distinguished Professor of philosophy at the City University of New York and an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he taught until January 2009. He works primarily in the philosophy of psychology and has produced books and articles on emotion, moral psychology, aesthetics and consciousness. 'From start to finish this book is a fine, balanced, enormously learned and informative blast on the trumpet of common sense and humane understanding ... wonderful' Simon Blackburn, New Statesman 'The nature versus nurture tussle has been running for centuries, and into this fervid arena steps Jesse J. Prinz ... he explores the origins of knowledge, language, thought and emotion and argues that there is not one human nature, but many' Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times 'Jesse Prinz wants to call a halt to the "century of the gene" ... in a backlash against the tyranny of DNA' Sydney Morning Herald

Beyond the Brain

2015-03-22 Psychology

Author : Louise Barrett
Release : 2015-03-22
Genre : Psychology
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 564/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Beyond the Brain by : Louise Barrett

Download or read book Beyond the Brain written by Louise Barrett. This book was released on 2015-03-22. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations--that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment--not just their brains--to behave intelligently. Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds. Considering when it is worth having a big brain--or indeed having a brain at all--she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments. Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.

On Human Nature

2016-09-12 Science

Author : Michel Tibayrenc
Release : 2016-09-12
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 159/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis On Human Nature by : Michel Tibayrenc

Download or read book On Human Nature written by Michel Tibayrenc. This book was released on 2016-09-12. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Human Nature: Biology, Psychology, Ethics, Politics, and Religion covers the present state of knowledge on human diversity and its adaptative significance through a broad and eclectic selection of representative chapters. This transdisciplinary work brings together specialists from various fields who rarely interact, including geneticists, evolutionists, physicians, ethologists, psychoanalysts, anthropologists, sociologists, theologians, historians, linguists, and philosophers. Genomic diversity is covered in several chapters dealing with biology, including the differences in men and apes and the genetic diversity of mankind. Top specialists, known for their open mind and broad knowledge have been carefully selected to cover each topic. The book is therefore at the crossroads between biology and human sciences, going beyond classical science in the Popperian sense. The book is accessible not only to specialists, but also to students, professors, and the educated public. Glossaries of specialized terms and general public references help nonspecialists understand complex notions, with contributions avoiding technical jargon. - Provides greater understanding of diversity and population structure and history, with crucial foundational knowledge needed to conduct research in a variety of fields, such as genetics and disease - Includes three robust sections on biological, psychological, and ethical aspects, with cross-fertilization and reciprocal references between the three sections - Contains contributions by leading experts in their respective fields working under the guidance of internationally recognized and highly respected editors

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