authors:
- Newson, Lesley
- Richerson, Peter
content: 'Weaving together many strands of knowledge from current science, this books
  attempts to describe the main evolutionary steps from the most recent common ancestor
  of chimpanzees and us (Homo sapiens). The authors describe the evidence and the
  controversies that surround some of the explanatory theories. To illustrate the
  main stages in the process that eventually brought forth modern humans, the authors
  also include short fictional stories of events in the lives of some of our ancestors.


  The book emphasizes the role of women and the relationships between women in the
  families and groups of humans and their predecessors. In older literature, the role
  of cooperation between males in hunting and conflict has often been the focus. Here,
  the roles of different generations of women in the family and in human groups is
  described as a major force in the evolution, in some epochs being the main force.
  I find this aspect of the book to be both convincing and fascinating.


  The book continuously stresses the importance of culture in our evolution. Human
  nature is to be cultural. Indeed, in the epilogue of the book, the authors go as
  far as saying that the idea of "human nature" should be abandoned, since culture
  has become so important for us that we with its help are active participants in
  the evolution of our behavior. I do not agree that the idea of "human nature" should
  be scrapped. I think the idea of "human nature" is still important, since without
  it we cannot explain e.g. why we are so hyper-cooperative as compared to all our
  closest evolutionary relatives. But I do agree that the currently widespread idea
  of "human nature" as a single, discrete, well-defined entity must be thoroughly
  updated.


  I found this to be one of the best recent synthesis of the story of us humans that
  I have read. I can strongly recommend it.'
date: '2022-01-30'
edition:
  published: '2021'
  publisher: Oxford University Press
goodreads: '55332273'
html: '<p>Weaving together many strands of knowledge from current science, this books
  attempts to describe the main evolutionary steps from the most recent common ancestor
  of chimpanzees and us (Homo sapiens). The authors describe the evidence and the
  controversies that surround some of the explanatory theories. To illustrate the
  main stages in the process that eventually brought forth modern humans, the authors
  also include short fictional stories of events in the lives of some of our ancestors.</p>

  <p>The book emphasizes the role of women and the relationships between women in
  the families and groups of humans and their predecessors. In older literature, the
  role of cooperation between males in hunting and conflict has often been the focus.
  Here, the roles of different generations of women in the family and in human groups
  is described as a major force in the evolution, in some epochs being the main force.
  I find this aspect of the book to be both convincing and fascinating.</p>

  <p>The book continuously stresses the importance of culture in our evolution. Human
  nature is to be cultural. Indeed, in the epilogue of the book, the authors go as
  far as saying that the idea of &quot;human nature&quot; should be abandoned, since
  culture has become so important for us that we with its help are active participants
  in the evolution of our behavior. I do not agree that the idea of &quot;human nature&quot;
  should be scrapped. I think the idea of &quot;human nature&quot; is still important,
  since without it we cannot explain e.g. why we are so hyper-cooperative as compared
  to all our closest evolutionary relatives. But I do agree that the currently widespread
  idea of &quot;human nature&quot; as a single, discrete, well-defined entity must
  be thoroughly updated.</p>

  <p>I found this to be one of the best recent synthesis of the story of us humans
  that I have read. I can strongly recommend it.</p>

  '
isbn: '9780190883201'
language: en
lastmod: '2022-01-30'
path: /library/newson-2021.html
published: '2021'
rating: 5
reference: Newson 2021
reviewed: '2022-01-30'
subjects:
- favorites
- human-evolution
- morality
- science
title: 'A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution'
type: book
year: 2021