The Unpredictable Species: What Makes Humans Unique - Hardcover

Lieberman, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691148589 ISBN 13: 9780691148588

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2013

Synopsis

How our brains have evolved so that we control how we think and behave

The Unpredictable Species argues that the human brain evolved in a way that enhances our cognitive flexibility and capacity for innovation and imitation. In doing so, the book challenges the central claim of evolutionary psychology that we are locked into predictable patterns of behavior that were fixed by genes, and refutes the claim that language is innate. Philip Lieberman builds his case with evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and physical anthropology, showing how our basal ganglia―structures deep within the brain whose origins predate the dinosaurs―came to play a key role in human creativity. He demonstrates how the transfer of information in these structures was enhanced by genetic mutation and evolution, giving rise to supercharged neural circuits linking activity in different parts of the brain. Human invention, expressed in different epochs and locales in the form of stone tools, digital computers, new art forms, complex civilizations―even the latest fashions―stems from these supercharged circuits.

The Unpredictable Species boldly upends scientifically controversial yet popular beliefs about how our brains actually work. Along the way, this compelling book provides insights into a host of topics related to human cognition, including associative learning, epigenetics, the skills required to be a samurai, and the causes of cognitive confusion on Mount Everest and of Parkinson's disease.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Lieberman is the George Hazard Crooker University Professor Emeritus at Brown University. His books include Toward an Evolutionary Biology of Language and Eve Spoke: Human Language and Human Evolution.

From the Back Cover

"In this wonderfully readable book, Lieberman argues that evolution has equipped humans with the most marvelous gift in the animal kingdom--the freedom to be unpredictable. The Unpredictable Species is educational, entertaining, challenging, aggravating, and convincing all at the same time. Anyone interested in the nature of Homo sapiens should own this book."--Daniel L. Everett, author of Language: The Cultural Tool

"Lieberman's new tour de force will enrage many and enlighten more. It makes lively reading for anyone who has ever wondered how the unprecedented and idiosyncratic human brain works, how it may have got that way, and where language may fit into the complex emerging picture of human evolution."--Ian Tattersall, author of Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins

"Engagingly written. Drawing on a wealth of evidence, Lieberman defends an uncompromising twenty-first century Darwinism and dispels persistent myths about the way genes shape human nature. His novel insights and powerful arguments against pseudoscientific theories proposing genetically fixed domain-specific cognitive modules make this a must-read for anyone interested in human evolution."--Christina Behme, Dalhousie University

From the Inside Flap

"In this wonderfully readable book, Lieberman argues that evolution has equipped humans with the most marvelous gift in the animal kingdom--the freedom to be unpredictable.The Unpredictable Species is educational, entertaining, challenging, aggravating, and convincing all at the same time. Anyone interested in the nature ofHomo sapiens should own this book."--Daniel L. Everett, author of Language: The Cultural Tool

"Lieberman's new tour de force will enrage many and enlighten more. It makes lively reading for anyone who has ever wondered how the unprecedented and idiosyncratic human brain works, how it may have got that way, and where language may fit into the complex emerging picture of human evolution."--Ian Tattersall, author of Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins

"Engagingly written. Drawing on a wealth of evidence, Lieberman defends an uncompromising twenty-first century Darwinism and dispels persistent myths about the way genes shape human nature. His novel insights and powerful arguments against pseudoscientific theories proposing genetically fixed domain-specific cognitive modules make this a must-read for anyone interested in human evolution."--Christina Behme, Dalhousie University

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691148589
• ISBN 13: 9780691148588
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272