Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Evolution of Everything
  • Cited by 1
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
November 2022
Print publication year:
2022
Online ISBN:
9781108862530
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530
Subjects:
Life Sciences, Evolutionary Biology, History, Global History
Information

Book description

Big History seeks to retell the human story in light of scientific advances by such methods as radiocarbon dating and genetic analysis. This book provides a deep, causal view of the forces that have shaped the universe, the earth, and humanity. Starting with the Big Bang and the formation of the earth, it traces the evolutionary history of the world, focusing on humanity's origins. It also explores the many natural forces shaping humanity, especially the evolution of the brain and behaviour. Moving through time, the causes of such important transformations as agriculture, complex societies, the industrial revolution, the enlightenment, and modernity are placed in the context of underlying changes in demography, learning, and social organization. Humans are biological creatures, operating with instincts evolved millions of years ago, but in the context of a rapidly changing world, and as we try to adapt to new circumstances, we must regularly reckon with our deep past.

Reviews

‘‘Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution". In a brilliant tour-de-force, Brian Villmoare encourages us to shorten Dobzhansky’s famous quote by deleting the words ‘in biology’.’

Volker Sommer - Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, University College London

‘This sweeping, erudite book will show you how nothing about the past -biological, anthropological, historical, or anything else- makes sense except in the light of evolutionary science.  Its breathtaking 5-billion-year perspective will help you think about why almost everything to do with humanity is the way it is.’

Daniel E. Lieberman - Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

‘… this splendid book intelligently complements existing big history works but from a fascinating biological perspective. … Recommended.’

T. Doran Source: Choice

‘This is a fascinating book at the crossroads of astronomy, geology, biology, human behavior, world history and their major causal factors. … This book will be of interest to those teaching courses on Big History, since it is the first book to take the approach of teaching it from a scientific point of view rather than a historical one.’

Sybille C. Fritsch-Oppermann Source: Reviews in Science, Religion and Theology

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Page 1 of 2

Contents

Page 1 of 2

References

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 583
Total number of PDF views: 5068 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 8383 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between 3rd November 2022 - 22nd April 2025. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.