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Human Characteristics: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Mind and Kind
Editor: Henrik Høgh-Olesen, Jan Tønnesvang and Preben Bertelsen
Date Of Publication: Mar 2009
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-0213-0
Isbn: 1-4438-0213-1
Every once in a while, we have to reconsider the perennial questions concerning human nature: What are the special human behaviours, social practices, and psychological structures that make us particularly human?

The field of evolution, psychology and cognitive science is the most expanding, inter-disciplinary area of this field for the time being, uniting different sciences under the same evolutionary paradigm and keeping them occupied by the same eternal questions stated above.

Relevant data and theoretical considerations are piling up, but an overview is needed. To facilitate this a large inter-disciplinary conference entitled “Human Mind—Human Kind” was held at Aarhus University, Denmark. The studies fall into three well defined sections: 1) Evolution and Cognition—Comparative and Developmental Perspectives, 2) Human Sociality, Morality and Religiosity, 3) Human Sexuality and Mating Strategies. Specifying the differences between our own species and the rest of the animal world always provokes debate. But these demarcations simply have to be drawn once and again. They focus attention and stimulate research, exactly because they provoke and challenge other researchers to take up the glove and prove us wrong.

Henrik Høgh-Olesen. Born 1957. Professor, Ph.D. Head of the department of Social and Personality Psychology, Aarhus University. Member of the steering committees for ESCON (European Social Cognition Network) and CompCog (European Evolution of Social Cognition Network) and co-editor of the Journal of Anthropological Psychology.

Jan Tønnesvang. Born 1963. Associate Professor, Ph.D. Department of Social and Personality Psychology, Aarhus University. Co-editor of the Journal of Anthropological Psychology.

Preben Bertelsen. Born 1954. Professor, Ph.D. Department of Social and Personality Psychology, Aarhus University. Editor of the Journal of Anthropological Psychology.

“What are human universals, and what psychological characteristics set human beings apart from other animals? These are key questions that are being addressed by evolutionary researchers in diverse fields in the social and biological sciences. This volume is an engaging and up-to-date exploration of the rapidly expanding literature on what makes us human”.

—Dr. Ara Norenzayan, University of British Columbia, Canada

“With a delightful potpourri of thought-provoking chapters, this book has something for everyone interested in expanding their understanding of human nature. Complied by three top Scandinavian academics, it includes an integrated set of chapters from a wide array of disciplines that demonstrate how evolutionary theory is equipped to elucidate the nature of human and primate cognition, human sociality, morality, religion, sexuality, and mating strategies.”

—Dennis Krebs, Professor of Psychology, Simon Frazer University, Canada

"Scholars of philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, and other disciplines ponder what characteristics distinguish humans from other creatures, exploring comparative and developmental perspectives of evolution and cognition; sociology, morality, and religiosity; and sexuality and mating strategies.

Price Uk Gbp: 49.99
Price Us Usd: 74.99

Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

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