Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies

Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies
Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2019-03-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1631495550

“The book bursts to life with [Wilson’s] observations of nature, from fire ants and social spiders to starlings.”—Aarathi Prasad, New York Times Book Review An “endlessly fascinating” (Michael Ruse) work of scientific thought and synthesis, Genesis is Edward O. Wilson’s twenty-first-century statement on Darwinian evolution. Asserting that religious creeds and philosophical questions can be reduced to purely genetic and evolutionary components, and that the human body and mind have a physical base obedient to the laws of physics and chemistry, Wilson demonstrates that the only way for us to fully understand human behavior is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species. At least seventeen of these species—among them the African naked mole rat and the sponge-dwelling shrimp—have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism and cooperation. Braiding twenty-first- century scientific theory with the lyrical biological and humanistic observations for which Wilson is beloved, Genesis is “a magisterial history of social evolution, from clouds of midges or sparrows to the grotesqueries of ant colonies” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

SUMMARY - Genesis: The Deep Origin Of Societies By Edward O. Wilson

SUMMARY - Genesis: The Deep Origin Of Societies By Edward O. Wilson
Author: Shortcut Edition
Publisher: Shortcut Edition
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2021-06-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes. As you read this summary, you will discover how humanity has evolved into an organized and cooperative society. You will also discover : that altruism appeared very early in biological evolution; that the species closest to mankind in terms of cooperation are found among insects; that in order to create groups, the individual had to put the interests of the group before his own; that eusociality, that advanced level of group cooperation, is the result of complex biological evolution; that the rapid cultural and social evolution of humanity was achieved through campfire conversations. For much of history, religions have monopolized the question of humanity's existence. For them, the enigma was easy to solve. The gods would have placed you on Earth before telling you how to behave. Today, scientists have a clearer idea of the true history of creation. You now know a lot about how mankind was born. The story of our existence, very different from the one imagined by theologians, has proven to be very close to the history of other species. These have, like mankind, evolved into more or less advanced societies. What are the forces that have allowed you to be as you are today? *Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!

Genesis

Genesis
Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: Allen Lane
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2019-04-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9780241388594

The Origins of Creativity

The Origins of Creativity
Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1631493191

“Brimming with ideas. . . . The Origins of Creativity approach[es] creativity scientifically but sensitively, feeling its roots without pulling them out.”—Economist In a stirring exploration of human nature recalling his foundational work Consilience, Edward O. Wilson offers a “luminous” (Kirkus Reviews) reflection on the humanities and their integral relationship to science. Both endeavors, Wilson argues, have their roots in human creativity—the defining trait of our species. By studying fields as diverse as paleontology, evolution, and neurobiology, Wilson demonstrates that creative expression began not 10,000 years ago, as we have long assumed, but more than 100,000 years ago in the Paleolithic Age. A provocative investigation into what it means to be human, The Origins of Creativity reveals how the humanities have played an unexamined role in defining our species. With the eloquence, optimism, and pioneering inquiry we have come to expect from our leading biologist, Wilson proposes a transformational “Third Enlightenment” in which the blending of science and humanities will enable a deeper understanding of our human condition, and how it ultimately originated.

Consilience

Consilience
Author: E. O. Wilson
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2014-11-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0804154066

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them." —The Wall Street Journal One of our greatest scientists—and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants—gives us a work of visionary importance that may be the crowning achievement of his career. In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.

The Human Swarm

The Human Swarm
Author: Mark W. Moffett
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 602
Release: 2019-04-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1541617290

The epic story and ultimate big history of how human society evolved from intimate chimp communities into the sprawling civilizations of a world-dominating species If a chimpanzee ventures into the territory of a different group, it will almost certainly be killed. But a New Yorker can fly to Los Angeles--or Borneo--with very little fear. Psychologists have done little to explain this: for years, they have held that our biology puts a hard upper limit--about 150 people--on the size of our social groups. But human societies are in fact vastly larger. How do we manage--by and large--to get along with each other? In this paradigm-shattering book, biologist Mark W. Moffett draws on findings in psychology, sociology and anthropology to explain the social adaptations that bind societies. He explores how the tension between identity and anonymity defines how societies develop, function, and fail. Surpassing Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, The Human Swarm reveals how mankind created sprawling civilizations of unrivaled complexity--and what it will take to sustain them.

Black Genesis

Black Genesis
Author: Robert Bauval
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2011-03-28
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1591439736

Presents proof that an advanced black African civilization inhabited the Sahara long before Pharaonic Egypt • Reveals black Africa to be at the genesis of ancient civilization and the human story • Examines extensive studies into the lost civilization of the “Star People” by renowned anthropologists, archaeologists, genetic scientists, and cultural historians as well as the authors’ archaeoastronomy and hieroglyphics research • Deciphers the history behind the mysterious Nabta Playa ceremonial area and its stone calendar circle and megaliths Relegated to the realm of archaeological heresy, despite a wealth of hard scientific evidence, the theory that an advanced civilization of black Africans settled in the Sahara long before Pharaonic Egypt existed has been dismissed and even condemned by conventional Egyptologists, archaeologists, and the Egyptian government. Uncovering compelling new evidence, Egyptologist Robert Bauval and astrophysicist Thomas Brophy present the anthropological, climatological, archaeological, geological, and genetic research supporting this hugely debated theory of the black African origin of Egyptian civilization. Building upon extensive studies from the past four decades and their own archaeoastronomical and hieroglyphic research, the authors show how the early black culture known as the Cattle People not only domesticated cattle but also had a sophisticated grasp of astronomy; created plentiful rock art at Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uwainat; had trade routes to the Mediterranean coast, central Africa, and the Sinai; held spiritual and occult ceremonies; and constructed a stone calendar circle and megaliths at the ceremonial site of Nabta Playa reminiscent of Stonehenge, yet much older. Revealing these “Star People” as the true founders of ancient Egyptian civilization, this book completely rewrites the history of world civilization, placing black Africa back in its rightful place at the center of mankind’s origins.

Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact

Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact
Author: Ludwik Fleck
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2012-09-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 022619034X

Originally published in German in 1935, this monograph anticipated solutions to problems of scientific progress, the truth of scientific fact and the role of error in science now associated with the work of Thomas Kuhn and others. Arguing that every scientific concept and theory—including his own—is culturally conditioned, Fleck was appreciably ahead of his time. And as Kuhn observes in his foreword, "Though much has occurred since its publication, it remains a brilliant and largely unexploited resource." "To many scientists just as to many historians and philosophers of science facts are things that simply are the case: they are discovered through properly passive observation of natural reality. To such views Fleck replies that facts are invented, not discovered. Moreover, the appearance of scientific facts as discovered things is itself a social construction, a made thing. A work of transparent brilliance, one of the most significant contributions toward a thoroughly sociological account of scientific knowledge."—Steven Shapin, Science

Origin Story

Origin Story
Author: David Christian
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2018-05-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 0316392022

This New York Times bestseller "elegantly weaves evidence and insights . . . into a single, accessible historical narrative" (Bill Gates) and presents a captivating history of the universe -- from the Big Bang to dinosaurs to mass globalization and beyond. Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day -- and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History," the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. In Origin Story, Christian takes readers on a wild ride through the entire 13.8 billion years we've come to know as "history." By focusing on defining events (thresholds), major trends, and profound questions about our origins, Christian exposes the hidden threads that tie everything together -- from the creation of the planet to the advent of agriculture, nuclear war, and beyond. With stunning insights into the origin of the universe, the beginning of life, the emergence of humans, and what the future might bring, Origin Story boldly reframes our place in the cosmos.