The Unpredictable Species : What Makes Humans Unique /
Philip Lieberman.
- Princeton : Princeton University Press, (c)2013.
- 1 online resource (xiv, 255 pages) : illustrations
Includes bibliographies and index.
Preface; Acknowledgments; Chapter One; Brainworks; Chapter Two; Brain Design by Rube Goldberg; Chapter Three; Darwin Got It Right; Chapter Four; Chimpanzee Brain 2.0; Chapter Five; Stones, Bones, and Brains; Chapter Six; The Gene Game; Chapter Seven; What Makes Us Tick; References; Index.
The Unpredictable Species argues that the human brain evolved in a way that enhances our cognitive flexibility and capacity for innovation and imitation. In doing so, the book challenges the central claim of evolutionary psychology that we are locked into predictable patterns of behavior that were fixed by genes, and refutes the claim that language is innate. Philip Lieberman builds his case with evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and physical anthropology, showing how our basal ganglia--structures deep within the brain whose origins predate the dinosaurs--came to play a key role.