authors:
- Tomasello, Michael
content: This is a review and synthesis of Michael Tomasello's and others' studies
on what differentiates the human species from its closest evolutionary ancestors,
the great apes. He describes the development of the human child and its abilities
from birth to 6 years of age, and contrasts it to the abilities of mainly chimpanzees.
It is during this time that most, if not all, capabilities that makes humans human
manifest themselves. It's a story of how the hypersocial nature of humans is made
possible by evolutionary changes in various capabilities that in some form or another
existed already in the last common ancestor of humans and great apes. These changes
eventually produced a species for which accumulative culture, language, cooperation
and reason are rooted in biology, but at the same time go far beyond biology. Tomasello
calls this the "shared intentionality theory", since it relies heavily on the notion
of shared intentionality, in which two or more individuals share a common goal and
understanding in a situation, and they understand that the other understands this
also. This develops into collective intentionality, which is essentially human culture.
The text is dense, so this is not an easy read. But it is rewarding, inspiring and
provocative.
date: '2019-03-24'
edition:
published: '2019'
publisher: 'Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press'
goodreads: '39217056'
html: '<p>This is a review and synthesis of Michael Tomasello''s and others'' studies
on what differentiates the human species from its closest evolutionary ancestors,
the great apes. He describes the development of the human child and its abilities
from birth to 6 years of age, and contrasts it to the abilities of mainly chimpanzees.
It is during this time that most, if not all, capabilities that makes humans human
manifest themselves. It''s a story of how the hypersocial nature of humans is made
possible by evolutionary changes in various capabilities that in some form or another
existed already in the last common ancestor of humans and great apes. These changes
eventually produced a species for which accumulative culture, language, cooperation
and reason are rooted in biology, but at the same time go far beyond biology. Tomasello
calls this the "shared intentionality theory", since it relies heavily
on the notion of shared intentionality, in which two or more individuals share a
common goal and understanding in a situation, and they understand that the other
understands this also. This develops into collective intentionality, which is essentially
human culture. The text is dense, so this is not an easy read. But it is rewarding,
inspiring and provocative.</p>
'
isbn: '9780674980853'
language: en
lastmod: '2019-03-24'
path: /library/tomasello-2018.html
published: '2018'
rating: 4
reference: Tomasello 2018
reviewed: '2019-03-24'
subjects:
- human-evolution
- morality
- philosophy
- science
title: 'Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny'
type: book
year: 2018