The Nature of Fear
eBook - PDF

The Nature of Fear

Survival Lessons from the Wild

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Nature of Fear

Survival Lessons from the Wild

About this book

An Open Letters Review Best Book of the Year

A leading expert in animal behavior takes us into the wild to better understand and manage our fears.

Fear, honed by millions of years of natural selection, kept our ancestors alive. Whether by slithering away, curling up in a ball, or standing still in the presence of a predator, humans and other animals have evolved complex behaviors in order to survive the hazards the world presents. But, despite our evolutionary endurance, we still have much to learn about how to manage our response to danger.

For more than thirty years, Daniel Blumstein has been studying animals' fear responses. His observations lead to a firm conclusion: fear preserves security, but at great cost. A foraging flock of birds expends valuable energy by quickly taking flight when a raptor appears. And though the birds might successfully escape, they leave their food source behind. Giant clams protect their valuable tissue by retracting their mantles and closing their shells when a shadow passes overhead, but then they are unable to photosynthesize, losing the capacity to grow. Among humans, fear is often an understandable and justifiable response to sources of threat, but it can exact a high toll on health and productivity.

Delving into the evolutionary origins and ecological contexts of fear across species, The Nature of Fear considers what we can learn from our fellow animals—from successes and failures. By observing how animals leverage alarm to their advantage, we can develop new strategies for facing risks without panic.

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Yes, you can access The Nature of Fear by Daniel T. Blumstein in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Abnormal Psychology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Prologue
  7. 1. A Sophisticated Neurochemical Cocktail
  8. 2. Beware of Looming Objects
  9. 3. Noise Matters
  10. 4. Smells Risky to Me
  11. 5. Be Very Aware
  12. 6. Economic Logic
  13. 7. Once Bitten, Twice Shy
  14. 8. Listening to Signalers
  15. 9. Cascading Effects
  16. 10. Minimizing Costs
  17. 11. Our Inner Marmot
  18. 12. Wisely Living with Fear
  19. Further Reading
  20. Acknowledgments
  21. Index