Transcendence : how humans evolved through fire, language, beauty, and time / Gaia Vince.
| Author/creator |
Vince, Gaia author. |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Edition | First edition. |
| Publication Info | New York : Basic Books, 2020. |
| Description | viii, 335 pages ; 25 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Contents | Introduction -- Genesis. 1. Conception ; 2. Birth -- Fire. 3. Landscaping ; 4. Brain building ; 5. Cultural levers -- Word. 6. Story ; 7. Language ; 8. Telling -- Beauty. 9. Belonging ; 10. Trinkets and treasures ; 11. Builders -- Time. 12. Timekeepers ; 13. Reason ; 14. Homni. |
| Abstract | What enabled us to go from simple stone tools to smartphones? How did bands of hunter-gatherers evolve into multinational empires? Readers of Sapiens will say a cognitive revolution -- a dramatic evolutionary change that altered our brains, turning primitive humans into modern ones -- caused a cultural explosion. In Transcendence, Gaia Vince argues instead that modern humans are the product of a nuanced coevolution of our genes, environment, and culture that goes back into deep time. She explains how, through four key elements -- fire, language, beauty, and time -- our species diverged from the evolutionary path of all other animals, unleashing a compounding process that launched us into the Space Age and beyond. Provocative and poetic, Transcendence shows how a primate took dominion over nature and turned itself into something marvelous. |
| General note | "January 2020"--Title page verso. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-325) and index. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| ISBN | 9780465094905 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0465094902 (hardcover) |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Joyner | General Stacks | GN281.4 .V56 2020 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |