The social conquest of earth

Summary: Where did we come from? What are we? Where are we going? In a generational work of clarity and passion, one of our greatest living scientists directly addresses these three fundamental questions of religion, philosophy, and science while “overturning the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover magazine). Refashioning the story of human evolution in a work that is certain to generate headlines, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to show that group selection, not kin selection, is the primary driving force of human evolution. He proves that history makes no sense without prehistory, and prehistory makes no sense without biology. Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, Wilson presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earths biosphere.

Record details

ISBN: 9780871404138 (hc.)
ISBN: 0871404133(hc.)
Physical Description: print
viii, 330 p. : ill ; 25 cm.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: New York : Liveright Pub. Corporation, c2012.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

[pt.] 1. Why does advanced social life exist? The human condition -- [pt.] 2. Where do we come from? The two paths to conquest ; The approach ; The arrival ; Threading the evolutionary maze ; The creative forces ; Tribalism is a fundamental human trait ; War as humanity's hereditary curse ; The breakout ; The creative explosion ; The sprint to civilization -- [pt.] 3. How social insects conquered the invertebrate world. The invention of eusociality ; Inventions that advanced the social insects -- [pt.] 4. The forces of social evolution. The scientific dilemma of rarity ; Insect altruism and eusociality explained ; Insects take the giant leap ; How natural selection creates social instincts ; The forces of social evolution ; The emergence of a new theory of eusociality -- [pt.] 5. What are we? What is human nature? ; How culture evolved ; The origins of language ; The evolution of cultural variation ; The origins of morality and honor ; The origins of religion ; The origins of the creative arts -- [pt.] 6. Where are we going? A new enlightenment.