Inheritance
The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
‘Insightful and breathtaking’ YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of Sapiens
‘Bold and sweeping’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads
‘Profoundly thought-provoking’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut Economics
How has humans' evolutionary inheritance shaped global society?
Why are humans everywhere prone to believe in ghosts?
How might our tendency to imitate one another be contributing to the climate catastrophe?
And does our deep evolutionary past impel us to vote for strongmen?
In 1987, Harvey Whitehouse went to live with an indigenous community deep in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. His experiences there convinced him that, far from being wildly different, humans are fundamentally alike: their beliefs and behaviours rooted in a set of evolutionary urges that can be found in any society, anywhere.
Here, Whitehouse roves across twelve millennia and five continents to uncover how these evolved urges have both shaped and been reshaped by human history. Along the way, he shows that this ancient inheritance does not just hold the key to explaining the modern world – but perhaps also to changing it.
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‘Ranges widely across disciplines and timescales to formulate an exhilarating narrative of human history . . . Enthralling and mind-expanding’ IRISH TIMES
‘Profoundly important . . . Whitehouse shows how evolution sculpted our psychological make-up, how we overcame its limitations over the course of world history, and how we can wield this knowledge to face the challenges of the future’ LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Being Human
‘A very powerful, provocative and inspiring analysis of the human condition . . . Compelling and highly readable, this book shows why anthropology matters’ GILLIAN TETT, Financial Times columnist and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge
‘A thought provoking look at social forces, and the ways ordinary people can change the world’ GUARDIAN
Customer Reviews
Inheritance
Harvey Whitehouse has produced a major work in which he details the ways in which mankind has evolved and why the history of the world has unfolded in the way it has.
He contends that the basic building blocks of our common inheritance are 3 natural biases that have been observed in all human societies. These are Conformism, Religiosity and Tribalism. These biases have been harnessed and extended by thousands of years of cultural evolution.
He goes on to state that these biases which have served humanity so well for millennia have now been corrupted and are failing for numerous reasons and are leading us to a future of political polarisation, deadlier wars and environmental destruction.
In the latter part of the book he sketches out a road map for peaceful cooperation and substantial prosperity by harnessing our evolved psychology which he argues can be achieved with sufficient political will and leadership.
The book is the result of 4 decades of extensive research and experiments aimed at explaining the diversity of human social and cultural systems. Harvey Whitehouse provides numerous examples and anecdotes which help to clarify what may be complex anthropological concepts. His passion and enthusiasm for his work comes through very strongly in the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book which is primarily aimed at non-academics with an interest in global politics and how mankind arrived at the point we are and the challenges we are currently facing.