Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe: Human Evolution, Behavior, History, and Your Future

by Joanne Souza, Paul M. Bingham

A new biological theory of human uniqueness and theory of everything based in human evolution. Paul M. Bingham & Joanne Souza share the products of more than a decades research into our evolutionary history. Humans communicate, cooperate, reason, coerce, & influence in specific ways that separate us from all other species. Knowledge of how this originally came to be in the human species is crucial to understanding our current social, economic and political behavior. "Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe" reads like a gripping novel, while delivering an answer to Darwin's unanswered question; how did humans become unique? The authors, one a molecular & evolutionary biologist and the other a research psychologist, dedicated to the evolutionary logic of human social behavior, have taken us beyond the fundamental concepts of biology into a theory that merges the natural & social sciences. You will gain striking new insights into our evolutionary origins, our innate sexual behavior (yes, both monogamous and promiscuous), our unprecedented approach to childrearing, our language and brain evolution, and our current social/political/economic behaviors. Questions like what caused the demise of Neandertals, the appearance of the agricultural revolution, the growth and cycling of elite empires, the modern economic miracle and the formation of both hierarchical and democratic governments will be answered. Bingham and Souzas work opens an entirely new way of looking at science and the human future. From Foreword Clarion Death from a Distance comprehensively unifies what it means to be human and gives readers the skills to analyze how our humanness continues to shape our world. Scholars, students, & general readers will all come away from this book with new insight on the human experience. From other This book is an astonishingly wide-ranging and provocative overview of evolution, human origins & social organization. Breathtaking in its scope, and ranging from the earliest prehistoric period, through the course of the evolution of life on Earth, this book presents a startlingly original thesis grounded in contemporary evolutionary theory. It will challenge countless well-entrenched theories about who we are as a species, where we came from & where we are going. John J. Shea Dept. of Anthropology, Stony Brook University and more...see book website www.deathfromadistance.com

Genres: Evolution, Science, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology

714 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2009

Reviews

[Briana O’Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was actually a textbook for a class. i just had it on goodreads to motivate myself to finish it.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually took a class with Professors Bingham and Souza about this book and their theory of human evolution. I speak at end about why I love this book, but I'll just stop and recommend anyone to read this book. Although it may be a bit difficult for someone who is not familiar with biology to fully grasp the first time through, the book is written simply enough that the layperson can understand the gist of the theory.

Although it runs counter to many current theories on human evolution, Bingham and Souza's theory is one of the most profound things I've ever learned and was the initial spark that lit my passion for evolution and science.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to all humans as it offers many insights into humanity that other books written by non-scientists don’t offer. Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe attempts to explain both human evolution and human history with one theory, that the unique human ability to kill other humans with projectile weapons has made it adaptive for humans to cooperate with one another. Throughout the book they show how cooperation permitted by projectile weapons has made everything from agriculture to modern science possible. This book will make you rethink many of the things you thought you knew about humanity.

[Mubashar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever questioned how humans evolved and came to dominate this planet this book is a must read.

[Yong Qi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only "textbook" I've ever finished reading. It influenced the way I think about humans as a species and I sometimes wonder if intelligence and ignorance is the great filter.

[LOL_BOOKS]

HAVE YOU READ DEATH FROM A DISTANCE, MEMER? I FOUND IT REFRESHING IN THAT THE AUTHORS EXPLICITLY SAY MULTIPLE TIMES "YO WENO THAT A LOT OF EVOPSYCH IS QUESTION-BEGGING GARBAGE, BUT WE'VE GOT A LOT OF EVIDENCE, PLZ JUST KEEP READING" AND ALSO EXPLICITLY SAY "IF YOU INTERPRET THIS EVIDENCE SOLELY THROUGH THE LENS OF WESTERN PATRIARCHY, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BAD TIME." I DON'T KNOW ENOUGH PALEOANTHROPOLOGY TO JUDGE THE EVIDENCE ON ITS MERITS, BUT I FELT LIKE THE BOOK WAS A PRETTY GOOD READ.