Unraveling Human Nature: Insights from History to Tomorrow

Unraveling Human Nature: Insights from History to Tomorrow PDF

Author: Ranjot Singh Chahal

Publisher: Rana Books Uk

Published: 2024-04-02

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13:

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"Unraveling Human Nature: Insights from History to Tomorrow" delves into the intricate tapestry of human existence, offering a captivating journey through the annals of time to the horizon of the future. Through meticulous exploration, this book navigates the rich historical perspectives, tracing the evolution of ideas on human nature and the contributions of key thinkers across centuries. From the biological foundations rooted in genetics and brain structure to the psychological dimensions of emotions, motivations, and personality traits, this book unveils the multifaceted aspects of human nature. It illuminates the profound influence of sociocultural factors, such as family, society, and culture, on shaping who we are. Delving into the complex realm of morality and ethics, the book confronts the timeless questions surrounding the nature of good and evil, and delves into the intricacies of ethical decision-making. It explores the boundless potential and development of humanity, examining the transformative journey of growth and change over the lifespan and the methods for harnessing human potential. Furthermore, "Unraveling Human Nature" confronts contemporary debates on nature versus nurture and the age-old philosophical quandary of free will versus determinism. It peers into the future, contemplating the impact of technological advances and the ethical considerations that accompany them. Drawing upon insights from history to tomorrow, this book offers a thought-provoking narrative that invites readers to contemplate the essence of human nature and its profound implications for our shared future.

Untethered

Untethered PDF

Author: Artem Koren

Publisher:

Published: 2018-05-29

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9781981076147

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"Why do we do what we do?" This may seem like a simple question at first, in practice however, the closer we examine where our decisions come from, the less intention and independent reasoning we find. Instead, we find primitive instincts and ideas that are often based on nothing more than the imagination of someone who has been dead for centuries.The first part of this book focuses on drivers of decisions that we are born with -- our inborn knowledge. It discusses the duality of our animal and reasoned self, how the brain enacts decisions, evolution of instincts, and the social instincts that prominently rule our lives.The second part focuses on learned knowledge which guides our behaviors -- our ideas. It delves into imagination, learning, model thinking, and language. It discusses the framework of our thinking that is determined by culture, including authority and belief.The third and final part focuses on independent knowledge that we generate through reason. This section discusses the process of reasoning, the idea of principled models and their role in technology, the application of reasoning in society, and considerations for purpose finding meaning in life.The last chapter discusses the idea of a personal culture, one untethered from nature and culture, that serves to maximize the potential for humanity's future.

Ideas of Human Nature

Ideas of Human Nature PDF

Author: Roger Trigg

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 1988-01-01

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 9780631145349

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Ideas of Human Nature, now revised and updated in this second edition, presents twelve of the most influential Western thinkers on the topic of human nature. Roger Trigg examines the thinkers in their historical context and discusses their relevance to contemporary controversies.The issues covered include perennial philosophical problems: the connection between mind and body; life after death; the role of reason; free-will and determinism; the relationship between the individual and society; and the problem of relativism.Including new chapters on Locke and Kant, this book is an accessible and key text for anyone interested in the theories that have altered the course of human history, and continue to impact on our lives today.

Creatures of Cain

Creatures of Cain PDF

Author: Erika Lorraine Milam

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-11-03

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 0691210438

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How Cold War America came to attribute human evolutionary success to our species' unique capacity for murder After World War II, the question of how to define a universal human nature took on new urgency. Creatures of Cain charts the rise and precipitous fall in Cold War America of a theory that attributed man’s evolutionary success to his unique capacity for murder. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials and in-depth interviews, Erika Lorraine Milam reveals how the scientists who advanced this “killer ape” theory capitalized on an expanding postwar market in intellectual paperbacks and widespread faith in the power of science to solve humanity’s problems, even to answer the most fundamental questions of human identity. The killer ape theory spread quickly from colloquial science publications to late-night television, classrooms, political debates, and Hollywood films. Behind the scenes, however, scientists were sharply divided, their disagreements centering squarely on questions of race and gender. Then, in the 1970s, the theory unraveled altogether when primatologists discovered that chimpanzees also kill members of their own species. While the discovery brought an end to definitions of human exceptionalism delineated by violence, Milam shows how some evolutionists began to argue for a shared chimpanzee-human history of aggression even as other scientists discredited such theories as sloppy popularizations. A wide-ranging account of a compelling episode in American science, Creatures of Cain argues that the legacy of the killer ape persists today in the conviction that science can resolve the essential dilemmas of human nature.

Homo Deus

Homo Deus PDF

Author: Yuval Noah Harari

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2017-02-21

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 0062464353

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Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods. Over the past century humankind has managed to do the impossible and rein in famine, plague, and war. This may seem hard to accept, but, as Harari explains in his trademark style—thorough, yet riveting—famine, plague and war have been transformed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature into manageable challenges. For the first time ever, more people die from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals put together. The average American is a thousand times more likely to die from binging at McDonalds than from being blown up by Al Qaeda. What then will replace famine, plague, and war at the top of the human agenda? As the self-made gods of planet earth, what destinies will we set ourselves, and which quests will we undertake? Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century—from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution. This is Homo Deus. With the same insight and clarity that made Sapiens an international hit and a New York Times bestseller, Harari maps out our future.

The Better Angels of Our Nature

The Better Angels of Our Nature PDF

Author: Steven Pinker

Publisher: Penguin Books

Published: 2012-09-25

Total Pages: 834

ISBN-13: 0143122010

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Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think this is the most violent age ever seen. Yet as bestselling author Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true.

Sapiens

Sapiens PDF

Author: Yuval Noah Harari

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2015-02-10

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 0062316109

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New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century New York Times Bestseller A Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become? Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

The Consciousness Instinct

The Consciousness Instinct PDF

Author: Michael S. Gazzaniga

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2018-04-03

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0374128766

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“The father of cognitive neuroscience” illuminates the past, present, and future of the mind-brain problem How do neurons turn into minds? How does physical “stuff”—atoms, molecules, chemicals, and cells—create the vivid and various worlds inside our heads? The problem of consciousness has gnawed at us for millennia. In the last century there have been massive breakthroughs that have rewritten the science of the brain, and yet the puzzles faced by the ancient Greeks are still present. In The Consciousness Instinct, the neuroscience pioneer Michael S. Gazzaniga puts the latest research in conversation with the history of human thinking about the mind, giving a big-picture view of what science has revealed about consciousness. The idea of the brain as a machine, first proposed centuries ago, has led to assumptions about the relationship between mind and brain that dog scientists and philosophers to this day. Gazzaniga asserts that this model has it backward—brains make machines, but they cannot be reduced to one. New research suggests the brain is actually a confederation of independent modules working together. Understanding how consciousness could emanate from such an organization will help define the future of brain science and artificial intelligence, and close the gap between brain and mind. Captivating and accessible, with insights drawn from a lifetime at the forefront of the field, The Consciousness Instinct sets the course for the neuroscience of tomorrow.

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life PDF

Author: Russ Roberts

Publisher: Portfolio

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1591847958

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"How the insights of an 18th century economist can help us live better in the 21st century. Adam Smith became famous for The Wealth of Nations, but the Scottish economist also cared deeply about our moral choices and behavior--the subjects of his other brilliant book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). Now, economist Russ Roberts shows why Smith's neglected work might be the greatest self-help book you've never read. Roberts explores Smith's unique and fascinating approach to fundamental questions such as: - What is the deepest source of human satisfaction? - Why do we sometimes swing between selfishness and altruism? - What's the connection between morality and happiness? Drawing on current events, literature, history, and pop culture, Roberts offers an accessible and thought-provoking view of human behavior through the lenses of behavioral economics and philosophy"--