Human Nature and the Evolution of Society

by Stephen K. Sanderson

If evolution has changed humans physically, has it also affected human behavior? Drawing on evolutionary psychology, sociobiology, and human behavioral ecology, Human Nature and the Evolution of Society explores the evolutionary dynamics underlying social life. In this introduction to human behavior and the organization of social life, Stephen K. Sanderson discusses traditional subjects like mating behavior, kinship, parenthood, status-seeking, and violence, as well as important topics seldom included in books of this type, especially gender, economies, politics, foodways, race and ethnicity, and the arts. Examples and research on a wide range of human societies, both industrial and nonindustrial, are integrated throughout. With chapter summaries of key points, thoughtful discussion questions, and important terms defined within the text, the result is a broad-ranging and comprehensive consideration of human society, thoroughly grounded in an evolutionary perspective.

Genres: Sociology, Society

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Crystal]

There are very few textbooks that I actually enjoyed reading, and less that I will go back and re-read. This is probably the only one.

[Lia]

Demonstrably false claims of human nature right in the first chapter. Science (from genetics to anthropology) does not support these claims of what human nature consists of, especially now that the microbiological revolution is going on, and this is obviously from before the new understandings of symbiogenesis and such. I was smelling racism and sexism in the text and choice of examples, too. This appears to be another author, who, like Pinker (and he has already praised Pinker in the first few pages), is not an anthropologist but writes in its domain like he thinks he is one (and demonstrates his ignorance in doing so).

[Riversue]

I really enjoyed this detailed analysis of much of human behaviour in terms of evolution. Everything from religion and art to violence is covered.