A Different Kind of Animal

How Culture Transformed Our Species

Robert Boyd

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English

Princeton University Pres
27 January 2020

Cognition & cognitive psychology; Mathematics & Sciences; Biology, life sciences; Evolution; The Earth: natural history general

Series: The University Center for Human Values Series

How our ability to learn from each other has been the essential ingredient to our remarkable success as a speciesHuman beings have evolved to become the most dominant species on Earth. This astonishing transformation is usually explained in terms of cognitive ability-people are just smarter than all the rest. But Robert Boyd argues that culture-our ability to learn from each other-has been the essential ingredient of our remarkable success. He shows how a unique combination of cultural adaptation and large-scale cooperation has transformed our species and assured our survival-making us the different kind of animal we are today. Based on the Tanner Lectures delivered at Princeton University, A Different Kind of Animal features challenging responses by biologist H. Allen Orr, philosopher Kim Sterelny, economist Paul Seabright, and evolutionary anthropologist Ruth Mace, as well as an introduction by Stephen Macedo.

By: Robert Boyd
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780691195902
ISBN 10: 0691195900
Series: The University Center for Human Values Series
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 27 January 2020
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Robert Boyd is Origins Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. His books include How Humans Evolved, Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution, and The Origin and Evolution of Cultures.

Reviews for A Different Kind of Animal: How Culture Transformed Our Species

Thought-provoking. Publishers Weekly A Different Kind of Animal is a fascinating introduction to a fertile field of cultural research that should be better-known. Approachable and clearly argued, it is a brave revival of the autonomy of culture and a breath of fresh air for those tired of the narrow claims of evolutionary psychology. Cosmos In this lucid, well-argued treatise, anthropologist Robert Boyd avers that we are 'culture-saturated creatures', and that it is culturally transmitted knowledge that sets us apart and explains our dramatic range of behaviours, from rampant violence to great feats of cooperation. Barbara Kiser, Nature