

Hero image 0 of Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare : How Evolution Shapes Our Loves and Fears (Hardcover), 0 of 1
Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare : How Evolution Shapes Our Loves and Fears (Hardcover)
(No ratings yet)
Key item features
Publishers Weekly,Orians (Life: The Science of Biology), professor emeritus of biology at the University of Washington, addresses how our evolutionary history influences current human behavior. It is not a new question, but he offers an engaging, if not entirely convincing, approach to the answer. He focuses on what he calls "ghosts of environments past," conditions that dramatically impacted our deep ancestors' ability to survive and reproduce that remain with us today even though they might no longer confer direct selective value. Unsurprisingly, he spends a good deal of time on the savanna hypothesis, an idea he previously promoted, suggesting that, given human evolutionary roots on the African savanna, this environment holds the greatest sway over us today. Frustratingly, although Orians writes repeatedly about providing testable hypotheses, he rarely offers any and virtually never discusses any of the underlying studies in enough detail to permit readers to form their own opinions. While he argues at length that successful parks and gardens are designed to mimic savannas, he hedges his bets by claiming that "sexual selection can also explain why our gardens and parks and other green spaces don't always display the features of a savanna." Orians doesn't present anything that hasn't been discussed elsewhere in greater detail. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Specs
- Book formatHardcover
- Fiction/nonfictionNon-Fiction
- Publication dateApril, 2014
- Pages224
- Edition1
- Original languagesEnglish
Current price is USD$35.88
Price when purchased online
- Free shipping
Free 30-day returns
How do you want your item?
Columbus, 43215
Arrives between May 8 - May 13
|Sold and shipped by newbookdeals
4.5602910602910605 stars out of 5, based on 1924 seller reviews(4.6)1924 seller reviews
Free 30-day returns - in store or online
About this item
Product details
Our breath catches and we jump in fear at the sight of a snake. We pause and marvel at the sublime beauty of a sunrise. These reactions are no accident; in fact, many of our human responses to nature are steeped in our deep evolutionary past--we fear snakes because of the danger of venom or constriction, and we welcome the assurances of the sunrise as the predatory dangers of the dark night disappear. Many of our aesthetic preferences--from the kinds of gardens we build to the foods we enjoy and the entertainment we seek--are the lingering result of natural selection. In this ambitious and unusual work, evolutionary biologist Gordon H. Orians explores the role of evolution in human responses to the environment, beginning with why we have emotions and ending with evolutionary approaches to aesthetics. Orians reveals how our emotional lives today are shaped by decisions our ancestors made centuries ago on African savannas as they selected places to live, sought food and safety, and socialized in small hunter-gatherer groups. During this time our likes and dislikes became wired in our brains, as the appropriate responses to the environment meant the difference between survival or death. His rich analysis explains why we mimic the tropical savannas of our ancestors in our parks and gardens, why we are simultaneously attracted to danger and approach it cautiously, and how paying close attention to nature's sounds has resulted in us being an unusually musical species. We also learn why we have developed discriminating palates for wine, and why we have strong reactions to some odors, and why we enjoy classifying almost everything. By applying biological perspectives ranging from Darwin to current neuroscience to analyses of our aesthetic preferences for landscapes, sounds, smells, plants, and animals, Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare transforms how we view our experience of the natural world and how we relate to each other.
Publishers Weekly,Orians (Life: The Science of Biology), professor emeritus of biology at the University of Washington, addresses how our evolutionary history influences current human behavior. It is not a new question, but he offers an engaging, if not entirely convincing, approach to the answer. He focuses on what he calls "ghosts of environments past," conditions that dramatically impacted our deep ancestors' ability to survive and reproduce that remain with us today even though they might no longer confer direct selective value. Unsurprisingly, he spends a good deal of time on the savanna hypothesis, an idea he previously promoted, suggesting that, given human evolutionary roots on the African savanna, this environment holds the greatest sway over us today. Frustratingly, although Orians writes repeatedly about providing testable hypotheses, he rarely offers any and virtually never discusses any of the underlying studies in enough detail to permit readers to form their own opinions. While he argues at length that successful parks and gardens are designed to mimic savannas, he hedges his bets by claiming that "sexual selection can also explain why our gardens and parks and other green spaces don't always display the features of a savanna." Orians doesn't present anything that hasn't been discussed elsewhere in greater detail. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
info:
We aim to show you accurate product information. Manufacturers, suppliers and others provide what you see here, and we have not verified it. Â
Specifications
Book format
Hardcover
Fiction/nonfiction
Non-Fiction
Genre
Political & Social Sciences
Publication date
April, 2014
Warranty
Warranty information
Please be aware that the warranty terms on items offered for sale by third party Marketplace sellers may differ from those displayed in this section (if any). To confirm warranty terms on an item offered for sale by a third party Marketplace seller, please use the 'Contact seller' feature on the third party Marketplace seller's information page and request the item's warranty terms prior to purchase.
Warnings
State Chemical Disclosure
None
Similar items you might like
Based on what customers bought
Geology of the Western Snake River Plain (Paperback) $34.95
$3495current price $34.95Geology of the Western Snake River Plain (Paperback)
How Evolution Shapes Our Lives: Essays on Biology and Society, (Paperback) $22.63
$2263current price $22.63How Evolution Shapes Our Lives: Essays on Biology and Society, (Paperback)
Mississippi Snakes: Their Identification, Natural History, and Influence on the Culture of the Magnolia State, (Paperback) $35.00
$3500current price $35.00Mississippi Snakes: Their Identification, Natural History, and Influence on the Culture of the Magnolia State, (Paperback)
Science in the Snakepit: Tales of the Often Eccentric People Who Have Studied Serpents Over the Centuries and Have Somet, (Paperback) $36.24
$3624current price $36.24Science in the Snakepit: Tales of the Often Eccentric People Who Have Studied Serpents Over the Centuries and Have Somet, (Paperback)
Insects - Successful Models of Evolution: Fascinating and Threatened, (Paperback) $31.22
$3122current price $31.22Insects - Successful Models of Evolution: Fascinating and Threatened, (Paperback)
Cooperative Evolution: Reclaiming Darwin's Vision, (Paperback) $38.15
$3815current price $38.15Cooperative Evolution: Reclaiming Darwin's Vision, (Paperback)
Way of the Cross for Loved Ones Who Have Left the Faith, (Paperback) $7.15 Was $8.23
$715current price $7.15, Was $8.23$8.23Way of the Cross for Loved Ones Who Have Left the Faith, (Paperback)
The Life and Correspondence of William Buckland, D.Dl., F.R.S. (Hardcover) $37.59
$3759current price $37.59The Life and Correspondence of William Buckland, D.Dl., F.R.S. (Hardcover)
At the Emperor's Pleasure: Surviving Wartime Captivity in the Far East, (Hardcover) $37.16
$3716current price $37.16At the Emperor's Pleasure: Surviving Wartime Captivity in the Far East, (Hardcover)
Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving, (Hardcover) $25.74
$2574current price $25.74Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving, (Hardcover)
The Life Of William Cavendish, Duke Of Newcastle, To Which Is Added The True Relation Of My Birth, Breeding And Life, (Hardcover) $34.67 Was $41.41
$3467current price $34.67, Was $41.41$41.41The Life Of William Cavendish, Duke Of Newcastle, To Which Is Added The True Relation Of My Birth, Breeding And Life, (Hardcover)
Conservation Fallout : Nuclear Protest At Diablo Canyon (Paperback) $37.62
$3762current price $37.62Conservation Fallout : Nuclear Protest At Diablo Canyon (Paperback)
Eye Spy: Afield with nature among flowers and animate things, (Paperback) $37.38
$3738current price $37.38Eye Spy: Afield with nature among flowers and animate things, (Paperback)
Why Is the World So Beautiful?: Our Minds in Search of Nature's Rhymes, (Hardcover) $29.95
$2995current price $29.95Why Is the World So Beautiful?: Our Minds in Search of Nature's Rhymes, (Hardcover)
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life (Enlarged edition) (Spiral Bound) $31.95
$3195current price $31.95Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life (Enlarged edition) (Spiral Bound)
15 out of 5 Stars. 1 reviewsCanary In a (Post) Covid World; Money, Fear and Power, (Hardcover) $26.88
$2688current price $26.88Canary In a (Post) Covid World; Money, Fear and Power, (Hardcover)
The Bumpy Road to Better: Unlocking the Hidden Power in Hard Things (Paperback) $12.22 Was $14.33
$1222current price $12.22, Was $14.33$14.33The Bumpy Road to Better: Unlocking the Hidden Power in Hard Things (Paperback)
45 out of 5 Stars. 4 reviewsMean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo (Paperback) $32.08
$3208current price $32.08Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo (Paperback)
14 out of 5 Stars. 1 reviewsAl Minhaj Being The Evolution Of Curriculum, (Hardcover) $33.95
$3395current price $33.95Al Minhaj Being The Evolution Of Curriculum, (Hardcover)
So Many Snakes, So Little Time: Uncovering the Secret Lives of Australia's Serpents, (Paperback) $47.69
$4769current price $47.69So Many Snakes, So Little Time: Uncovering the Secret Lives of Australia's Serpents, (Paperback)
Customer ratings & reviews
0 ratings|0 reviews
This item does not have any reviews yet
Related pages
- Salmonella Typhi
- Eels Beautiful Freak
- Bayou Moon Publishing
- Mississippus River Stage
- Name Snake
- Marikit
- Teen & Young Adult Marine Life Books
- Aboriginal & Indigenous People & Places Teen & Young Adult Books
- Nature & the Natural World Teen & Young Adult Books
- Polar Regions People & Places Teen & Young Adult Books
- Caribbean & Latin America People & Places Teen & Young Adult Books
- Australia & Oceania Historical Teen & Young Adult Books
