LIMITED OFFER
Save 50% on book bundles
Immediately download your ebook while waiting for your print delivery. No promo code needed.
On Human Nature
Biology, Psychology, Ethics, Politics, and Religion
- 2nd Edition - October 1, 2026
- Editor: Michel Tibayrenc
- Language: English
- Hardback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 3 3 6 9 1 - 1
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 3 3 6 9 2 - 8
This second edition of On Human Nature: Biology, Psychology, Ethics, Politics, and Religion covers the present state of knowledge on human biological and cultural diversity and its… Read more
Purchase options
Institutional subscription on ScienceDirect
Request a sales quoteThis second edition of On Human Nature: Biology, Psychology, Ethics, Politics, and Religion covers the present state of knowledge on human biological and cultural diversity and its adaptative significance through an extensive selection of representative chapters. It brings together specialists from various fields, including geneticists, evolutionists, physicians, ethologists, psychoanalysts, anthropologists, sociologists, theologians, historians, linguists, and philosophers. Edited by renowned expert Michel Tibayrenc, this second edition features updates to all major sections of the first edition and brings novel chapters covering critical advancements in human biology, psychology, behavior, ethics, and culture. A globally diverse and interdisciplinary team of experts has been carefully selected to cover the breadth of topics enclosed. The book is at the crossroads between biology and social sciences. On Human Nature is accessible not only to specialists, but also to students, professors, industry professionals, and the educated public. Glossaries of specialized terms and general public references help nonspecialists understand complex notions, with contributions avoiding technical jargon.
• Provides updated coverage of first edition content and novel chapters spanning human biology, psychology, behavior, ethics, and culture
• Improves our understanding of human diversity, population structure, and history
• Contains contributions by a globally diverse and interdisciplinary team of experts for robust coverage of the three major book sections
• Improves our understanding of human diversity, population structure, and history
• Contains contributions by a globally diverse and interdisciplinary team of experts for robust coverage of the three major book sections
Academics and industry professionals in human biology and social science disciplines, including evolutionary biology, developmental biology, genetics, medicine, paleontology, ethology, anthropology, psychology, and sociology
Section I: Biological Basis of Human Diversity Chapter 1. The advent of biological evolution and humankind: chance or necessity? Chapter 2. Hominins: context, origins and taxic diversity Chapter 3. The history of early Homo Chapter 4. The contribution of genetic ancestry from archaic humans to modern humans Chapter 5. World dispersals and genetic diversity of mankind: The Out-of-Africa theory and its challenges Chapter 6. Human population variability and its adaptive significance Chapter 7. Evolution and implications of genomic diversity on ‘human kind’ in India Chapter 8. The human brain: evolution and distinctive features Chapter 9. How different are humans and “great apes”? A matrix of comparative anthropogeny Chapter 10. Human intergroup variation and disease genetics Chapter 11. Natural selection associated with infectious diseases Chapter 12. Aging, somatic evolution and cancer Chapter 13. Evolution of the human leucocyte antigen system Chapter 14. Human life history: Biocultural factors, community effects, and strategic growth trade-offs Chapter 15. Gorillas in our midst? Human sexual dimorphism and contest competition in men Chapter 16. The human family: Evolutionary origins and adaptative significance Chapter 17. Epigenetics Chapter 18. Evolution of the human microbiome Chapter 19. Recent evolution in humans Chapter 20. Sex or gender: Genes versus environment Section II. Psychology, Behavior and Society Chapter 21. Biological future of humankind: Ongoing evolution and the impact of recognition of human biological variation Chapter 22. Gene-culture models for the evolution of altruistic teaching Chapter 23. Agricultural origins and distribution in Eurasia and Africa Chapter 24. The quantum origin of life: How the brain evolved to feel good Chapter 25. Empathy, theory of mind, cognition, morality, and altruism Chapter 26. Cognitive ethology and social attention Chapter 27. Human sociobiology and Group Selection Theory Chapter 28. Behavior analysis, Darwinian evolutionary processes, and the diversity of human behavior Chapter 29. A psychoanalyst views the self across civilizations Chapter 30. Biological and social causation of serious mental illness Chapter 31. The flexible psychological concept of normality Chapter 32. Diversity and hierarchy in the evolution of mental mechanisms Chapter 33. Human diversity at the individual and population levels, and societal hierarchies Chapter 34. Homosexuality and evolution: A critical appraisal Chapter 35. The roots and individual diversity of addiction Chapter 36. Human variability and the origins and evolution of language Chapter 37. Human evolution and progress Chapter 38. Culture, brain, and behavior: The implications of neural plasticity and development on social contexts and political structures Chapter 39. Artificial intelligence and human nature Chapter 40. New ideologies: Decolonialism and woke culture Chapter 41. On the changing relationship between humans and nature in the course of human development Chapter 42. Reductionism, holism and human nature Chapter 43. The future of transhumanism Chapter 44. Theory of mind Section III: Ethics, historic, political and religious aspects Chapter 45. Adaptive significance of ethics and aesthetics Chapter 46. The politics of human nature Chapter 47. Race and racism: Biology, ethics, and politics Chapter 48. Social Darwinism Chapter 49. History and diversity of religions Chapter 50. Religion viewed from different sciences Chapter 51. Universal humanity, religious particularity, and scientific reductionism Chapter 52. Evolution and the future of medicine Chapter 53. The impact of modern medicine on human evolution Chapter 54. Science and technology in human societies: from toolmaking to technology Chapter 55. Biology, psychology, ethics, and politics: An innate moral sense? Chapter 56. What HIV has taught about the interactions between biology, culture, and other evolving systems Chapter 57. A history of eugenics Chapter 58. A recent history of agronomy
- No. of pages: 980
- Language: English
- Edition: 2
- Published: October 1, 2026
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Hardback ISBN: 9780443336911
- eBook ISBN: 9780443336928
MT
Michel Tibayrenc
Dr. Michel Tibayrenc has worked on the evolution of infectious diseases for more than 45 years. He is a director of research emeritus at the French Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) and the founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of the Elsevier journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution. From 1996-2021 he was the founder and principal organizer of Elsevier’s international MEEGID congress (Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics of Infectious Diseases). He has held professional appointments in France, Algeria, French Guiana, Bolivia, Thailand, and the United States; is the cofounder of the Bolivian Society of Human Genetics; and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Affiliations and expertise
Infectious Diseases and Vectors, Ecology, Genetics, Evolution and Control, IRD Center, Montpellier, France