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Darwin's Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind,Used
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How culture transformed human evolutionHumans possess an extraordinary capacity for cultural production, from the arts and language to science and technology. How did the human mindand the uniquely human ability to devise and transmit cultureevolve from its roots in animal behavior? Darwin's Unfinished Symphony presents a captivating new theory of human cognitive evolution. This compelling and accessible book reveals how culture is not just the magnificent end product of an evolutionary process that produced a species unlike all othersit is also the key driving force behind that process.Kevin N. Lala shows how the learned and socially transmitted activities of our ancestors shaped our intellects through accelerating cycles of evolutionary feedback. The truly unique characteristics of our speciessuch as our intelligence, language, teaching, and cooperationare not adaptive responses to predators, disease, or other external conditions. Rather, humans are creatures of their own making. Drawing on his own groundbreaking research, and bringing it to life with vivid natural history, Lala explains how animals imitate, innovate, and have remarkable traditions of their own. He traces our rise from scavenger apes in prehistory to modern humans able to design iPhones, dance the tango, and send astronauts into space.This book tells the story of the painstaking fieldwork, the key experiments, the false leads, and the stunning scientific breakthroughs that led to this new understanding of how culture transformed human evolution. It is the story of how Darwin's intellectual descendants picked up where he left off and took up the challenge of providing a scientific account of the evolution of the human mind.
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- Q: What is the main premise of Darwin's Unfinished Symphony? A: The book presents a new theory of human cognitive evolution, emphasizing how culture has transformed the human mind and shaped our unique characteristics through evolutionary feedback.
- Q: Who is the author of Darwin's Unfinished Symphony? A: The author is Kevin N. Lala, who draws on his groundbreaking research to explore the evolution of human cognition.
- Q: What topics are covered in this book? A: The book covers the evolution of human culture, cognitive abilities, language, teaching, and cooperation, and how these traits emerged through cultural production.
- Q: How does this book relate to Darwin's theories? A: It builds on Darwin's ideas by providing a scientific account of human cognitive evolution, suggesting that culture is a primary driving force in our development.
- Q: What is the publication date of Darwin's Unfinished Symphony? A: The book was published on March 7, 2017.
- Q: What is the format and page count of the book? A: Darwin's Unfinished Symphony is a hardcover edition with a total of 464 pages.
- Q: Is this book suitable for casual readers? A: Yes, the book is written in a compelling and accessible manner, making it suitable for both academic audiences and casual readers interested in evolutionary psychology.
- Q: What is the significance of cultural evolution discussed in the book? A: The book emphasizes that cultural evolution is not just an outcome of biological evolution, but a key driver of the unique traits that define humanity.
- Q: Are there any key experiments or breakthroughs mentioned? A: Yes, the book recounts significant fieldwork, key experiments, and scientific breakthroughs that have shaped our understanding of human cognitive evolution.
- Q: What edition of the book is available? A: This is the First Edition of Darwin's Unfinished Symphony.