Blueprint : the evolutionary origins of a good society / Nicholas A. Christakis.
For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions -- our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations -- we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society. In Blueprint, Nicholas A. Christakis introduces the compelling idea that our genes affect not only our bodies and behaviors, but also the ways in which we make societies, ones that are surprisingly similar worldwide. With many vivid examples -- including diverse historical and contemporary cultures, communities formed in the wake of shipwrecks, commune dwellers seeking utopia, online groups thrown together by design or involving artificially intelligent bots, and even the tender and complex social arrangements of elephants and dolphins that so resemble our own -- Christakis shows that, despite a human history replete with violence, we cannot escape our social blueprint for goodness. In a world of increasing political and economic polarization, it's tempting to ignore the positive role of our evolutionary past. But by exploring the ancient roots of goodness in civilization, Blueprint shows that our genes have shaped societies for our welfare and that, in a feedback loop stretching back many thousands of years, societies have shaped, and are still shaping, our genes today.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780316230032
- ISBN: 0316230030
- Physical Description: xxi, 520 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Little, Brown Spark, 2019.
- Copyright: ©2019
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 425-505) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Preface: our common humanity -- The society within us -- Unintentional communities -- Intentional communities -- Artificial communities -- First comes love -- Animal attraction -- Animal friends -- Friends and networks -- One way to be social -- Remote control -- Genes and culture -- Natural and social laws. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Evolution (Biology) > Philosophy. Evolution (Biology) > Social aspects. Social evolution. |
Available copies
- 18 of 18 copies available at NC Cardinal.
- 1 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library. (Show)
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- 0 current holds with 18 total copies.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
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Marion Library | 576.801 CHR (Text) | 37810435749790 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Clemmons Branch | 576.801 C (Text) | 0112522900143 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Cliffdale Library | 576.801 C (Text) | 31781065328211 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Cumberland Headquarters | 576.801 C (Text) | 31781065328195 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
East Regional Library | 576.801 C (Text) | 31781065328229 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Forsyth Central | 576.801 C (Text) | 0112521977321 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
George H. & Laura E. Brown Library | 576.801 Chr (Text) | 30308101213883 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Haywood County Main Library | 576.801 Christakis (Text) | 33115007668152 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Henderson Main Branch | 576.801 C (Text) | 33258008585726 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library | 576.801 C (Text) | 39149007879711 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |