Not So Different

Finding Human Nature in Animals

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature, Animals, Animals Rights, Science, Biological Sciences, Biology, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Not So Different by Nathan H. Lents, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nathan H. Lents ISBN: 9780231541756
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: May 17, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Nathan H. Lents
ISBN: 9780231541756
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: May 17, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Animals fall in love, establish rules for fair play, exchange valued goods and services, hold "funerals" for fallen comrades, deploy sex as a weapon, and communicate with one another using rich vocabularies. Animals also get jealous and violent or greedy and callous and develop irrational phobias, just like us. Monkeys address inequality, wolves miss each other, elephants grieve for their dead, and prairie dogs name the humans they encounter. Human and animal behavior is not as different as once believed.

In Not So Different, the biologist Nathan H. Lents argues that the same evolutionary forces of cooperation and competition have shaped both humans and animals. Identical emotional and instinctual drives govern our actions. By acknowledging this shared programming, the human experience no longer seems unique, but in that loss we gain a fuller appreciation of such phenomena as sibling rivalry and the biological basis of grief, helping us lead more grounded, moral lives among animals, our closest kin. Through a mix of colorful reporting and rigorous scientific research, Lents describes the exciting strides scientists have made in decoding animal behavior and bringing the evolutionary paths of humans and animals closer together. He marshals evidence from psychology, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, anthropology, and ethology to further advance this work and to drive home the truth that we are distinguished from animals only in degree, not in kind.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Animals fall in love, establish rules for fair play, exchange valued goods and services, hold "funerals" for fallen comrades, deploy sex as a weapon, and communicate with one another using rich vocabularies. Animals also get jealous and violent or greedy and callous and develop irrational phobias, just like us. Monkeys address inequality, wolves miss each other, elephants grieve for their dead, and prairie dogs name the humans they encounter. Human and animal behavior is not as different as once believed.

In Not So Different, the biologist Nathan H. Lents argues that the same evolutionary forces of cooperation and competition have shaped both humans and animals. Identical emotional and instinctual drives govern our actions. By acknowledging this shared programming, the human experience no longer seems unique, but in that loss we gain a fuller appreciation of such phenomena as sibling rivalry and the biological basis of grief, helping us lead more grounded, moral lives among animals, our closest kin. Through a mix of colorful reporting and rigorous scientific research, Lents describes the exciting strides scientists have made in decoding animal behavior and bringing the evolutionary paths of humans and animals closer together. He marshals evidence from psychology, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, anthropology, and ethology to further advance this work and to drive home the truth that we are distinguished from animals only in degree, not in kind.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Motion(less) Pictures by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Photography and Its Violations by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Being Human in a Buddhist World by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Theory for the Working Sociologist by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book The Cinema of Aki Kaurismäki by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book I-Docs by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Thinking with Animals by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Twenty-first Century Motherhood by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book The Cerrados of Brazil by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book The Novelist’s Lexicon by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Triadic Coercion by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Weird Dinosaurs by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Smart Machines by Nathan H. Lents
Cover of the book Russia and the Idea of the West by Nathan H. Lents
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy