- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
About this book
Humans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy virtually every habitat on earth using an incredible variety of tools and subsistence techniques. Our societies are larger, more complex, and more cooperative than any other mammal's. In this stunning exploration of human adaptation, Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd argue that only a Darwinian theory of cultural evolution can explain these unique characteristics.
Not by Genes Alone offers a radical interpretation of human evolution, arguing that our ecological dominance and our singular social systems stem from a psychology uniquely adapted to create complex culture. Richerson and Boyd illustrate here that culture is neither superorganic nor the handmaiden of the genes. Rather, it is essential to human adaptation, as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion. Drawing on work in the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology, and economics—and building their case with such fascinating examples as kayaks, corporations, clever knots, and yams that require twelve men to carry them—Richerson and Boyd convincingly demonstrate that culture and biology are inextricably linked, and they show us how to think about their interaction in a way that yields a richer understanding of human nature.
In abandoning the nature-versus-nurture debate as fundamentally misconceived, Not by Genes Alone is a truly original and groundbreaking theory of the role of culture in evolution and a book to be reckoned with for generations to come.
"I continue to be surprised by the number of educated people (many of them biologists) who think that offering explanations for human behavior in terms of culture somehow disproves the suggestion that human behavior can be explained in Darwinian evolutionary terms. Fortunately, we now have a book to which they may be directed for enlightenment . . . . It is a book full of good sense and the kinds of intellectual rigor and clarity of writing that we have come to expect from the Boyd/Richerson stable."—Robin Dunbar, Nature
"Not by Genes Alone is a valuable and very readable synthesis of a still embryonic but very important subject straddling the sciences and humanities."—E. O. Wilson, Harvard University
Not by Genes Alone offers a radical interpretation of human evolution, arguing that our ecological dominance and our singular social systems stem from a psychology uniquely adapted to create complex culture. Richerson and Boyd illustrate here that culture is neither superorganic nor the handmaiden of the genes. Rather, it is essential to human adaptation, as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion. Drawing on work in the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology, and economics—and building their case with such fascinating examples as kayaks, corporations, clever knots, and yams that require twelve men to carry them—Richerson and Boyd convincingly demonstrate that culture and biology are inextricably linked, and they show us how to think about their interaction in a way that yields a richer understanding of human nature.
In abandoning the nature-versus-nurture debate as fundamentally misconceived, Not by Genes Alone is a truly original and groundbreaking theory of the role of culture in evolution and a book to be reckoned with for generations to come.
"I continue to be surprised by the number of educated people (many of them biologists) who think that offering explanations for human behavior in terms of culture somehow disproves the suggestion that human behavior can be explained in Darwinian evolutionary terms. Fortunately, we now have a book to which they may be directed for enlightenment . . . . It is a book full of good sense and the kinds of intellectual rigor and clarity of writing that we have come to expect from the Boyd/Richerson stable."—Robin Dunbar, Nature
"Not by Genes Alone is a valuable and very readable synthesis of a still embryonic but very important subject straddling the sciences and humanities."—E. O. Wilson, Harvard University
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Not By Genes Alone by Peter J. Richerson,Robert Boyd in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Science General. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Publisher
University of Chicago PressYear
2008Print ISBN
9780226712123, 9780226712840eBook ISBN
978022671213064
Chapter
Three
Figure
3.1.
Although
the
bowline
is
strong
and
easy
to
untie,
it
can
accidentally
come
untied.
a
second
person’s
brain
that
generates
a
similar
behavior.
If
we
could
look
inside
people’s
heads,
we
might
find
out
that
different
individuals
have
dif-
ferent
mental
representations
of
a
bowline,
even
when
they
tie
it
exactly
the
same
way.
Cultural
evolution
is
Darwinian
Now,
let’s
see
how
we
can
use
population
thinking
to
link
these
facts
about
how
culture
is
stored
and
transmitted
by
individuals
to
the
two
central
facts
about
cultural
variation:
traditions
exist,
and
traditions
change.
Consider
a
simple,
hypothetical
example
inspired
by
Salamon’s
account
of
German
and
Yankee
farmers.
This
is
not
a
real
model
of
cultural
evolu-
tion
in
Illinois;
rather,
it
is
a
way
of
illustrating
the
logic
of
Darwinian
meth-
ods.
16
The
standard
way
to
modularize
an
evolutionary
problem
is
to
think
about
the
main
events
in
the
life
cycle
of
an
individual,
divide
that
life
cy-
cle
into
stages
in
which
only
one
process
operates,
specify
the
processes,
develop
the
statistical
machinery
to
scale
up
from
individuals
to
the
popu-
lation,
and
then
use
this
machinery
to
keep
track
of
the
distribution
of
cul-
Table of contents
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Culture Is Essential
- Chapter 2 Culture Exists
- Chapter 3 Culture Evolves
- Chapter 4 Culture Is an Adaptation
- Chapter 5 Culture Is Maladaptive
- Chapter 6 Culture and Genes Coevolve
- Chapter 7 Nothing About Culture Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution
- Notes
- References and Author Index
- General Index