UID:
edocfu_9958352084402883
Format:
1 online resource(176 p.) :
,
illustrations.
Edition:
Electronic reproduction. New York, NY : Columbia University Press, 2015. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Edition:
System requirements: Web browser.
Edition:
Access may be restricted to users at subscribing institutions.
ISBN:
9780231540391
Content:
Beyond Biofatalism is a spirited response to the pessimism of mainstream evolutionary psychology, which argues that human beings are incapable of building a more inclusive, cooperative, and egalitarian society. Considering the pressures of climate change, unsustainable population growth, increasing income inequality, and religious extremism, this attitude promises to bury us before we even try to meet these threats. Beyond Biofatalism provides the perspective we need to understand that better societies are not only possible but actively enabled by human nature.Though she takes issue with the pessimism of evolutionary psychologists, Gillian Barker appreciates their methods and findings. She considers their work against a broader background to show human nature is surprisingly open to social change. Like other organisms, we possess an active plasticity that allows us to respond dramatically to certain kinds of environmental variation, and we engage in niche construction, modifying our environment to affect others and ourselves. Related research in social psychology, developmental biology, ecology, and economics reinforces this expanded view of evolved human nature, while philosophical exploration reveals its broader implications. The result is an encouraging foundation on which to build better approaches to social, political, and other institutional changes that could enhance our well-being and chances for survival.
Note:
Frontmatter --
,
Contents --
,
Preface --
,
1. Human Nature and the Limits of Human Possibility --
,
2. The Cost of Change --
,
3. Thinking About Change and Stability in Living Systems --
,
4. Lessons from Development, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology --
,
5. Human Possibilities --
,
6. Valuing Change --
,
7. Choosing Environments --
,
8. What Is Feasible? --
,
9. Evolutionary Psychology and Human Possibilities --
,
Notes --
,
References --
,
Index
,
In English.
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780231171885
Language:
English
URL:
https://www.degruyter.com/doi/book/10.7312/bark17188
