Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare
How Evolution Shapes Our Loves and Fears
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The eminent zoologist “extends his pioneering work in evolutionary biology” to examine “our preferences, predilections, fears, hopes, and aspirations” (Stephen R. Kellert, author of Birthright).
Why do we jump in fear at the sight of a snake and marvel at the beauty of a sunrise? These impulsive reactions are no accident; in fact, many of our human responses to nature are steeped in our evolutionary past—we fear snakes because of the danger of venom, and we welcome the assurances of sun as the predatory dangers of night disappear. According to evolutionary biologist Gordon Orians, many of our aesthetic preferences—from the kinds of gardens we build to the foods we enjoy and the entertainment we seek—are the lingering result of natural selection.
In Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare, Orians explores the role of evolution in human responses to the environment, applying biological perspectives ranging from Darwin to current neuroscience. Orians reveals how our emotional lives today are shaped by decisions our ancestors made centuries ago on African savannas as they selected places to live, sought food and safety, and socialized in small hunter-gatherer groups. During this time our likes and dislikes became wired in our brains, as the appropriate responses to the environment meant the difference between survival or death. His rich analysis explains why we mimic the tropical savannas of our ancestors in our parks and gardens, why we are simultaneously attracted to and repelled by danger, and how paying close attention to nature’s sounds has made us an unusually musical species.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Orians (Life: The Science of Biology), professor emeritus of biology at the University of Washington, addresses how our evolutionary history influences current human behavior. It is not a new question, but he offers an engaging, if not entirely convincing, approach to the answer. He focuses on what he calls "ghosts of environments past," conditions that dramatically impacted our deep ancestors' ability to survive and reproduce that remain with us today even though they might no longer confer direct selective value. Unsurprisingly, he spends a good deal of time on the savanna hypothesis, an idea he previously promoted, suggesting that, given human evolutionary roots on the African savanna, this environment holds the greatest sway over us today. Frustratingly, although Orians writes repeatedly about providing testable hypotheses, he rarely offers any and virtually never discusses any of the underlying studies in enough detail to permit readers to form their own opinions. While he argues at length that successful parks and gardens are designed to mimic savannas, he hedges his bets by claiming that "sexual selection can also explain why our gardens and parks and other green spaces don't always display the features of a savanna." Orians doesn't present anything that hasn't been discussed elsewhere in greater detail.
