The Human Condition is a collection of papers by leading evolutionary biologists and philosophers of science that reflect on the Darwinian Revolution as it relates to the human condition at levels ranging from the molecular to the theological.
The book focuses on understanding the evolutionary origin of humans and their biological and cultural traits.
The Human Condition is organized into three parts: Human Phylogenetic History and the Paleontological Record; Structure and Function of the Human Genome; and Cultural Evolution and the Uniqueness of Being Human. This fourth volume from the In the Light of Evolution (ILE) series, based on a series of Arthur M.
Sackler colloquia, was designed to promote the evolutionary sciences.
Each volume explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges.
Individually and collectively, the ILE series interprets phenomena in various areas of biology through the lens of evolution, addresses some of the most intellectually engaging as well as pragmatically important societal issues of our times, and fosters a greater appreciation of evolutionary biology as a consolidating foundation for the life sciences. Table of ContentsFront MatterPART I: HUMAN PHYLOGENETIC HISTORY AND THE PALEONTOLOGICAL RECORD1 Reconstructing Human Evolution: Achievements, Challenges, andOpportunities--Bernard Wood2 Terrestrial Apes and Phylogenetic Trees--Juan Luis Arsuaga3 Phylogenomic Evidence of Adaptive Evolution in the Ancestry ofHumans-Morris Goodman and Kirstin N.
Sterner4 Human Adaptations to Diet, Subsistence, and Ecoregion Are Due toSubtle Shifts in Allele Frequency--Angela M.
Hancock, David B. Witonsky, Edvard Ehler, Gorka Alkorta-Aranburu, Cynthia Beall, AmhaGebremedhin, Rem Sukernik, Gerd Utermann, Jonathan Pritchard,Graham Coop, and Anna Di Rienzo5 Working Toward a Synthesis of Archaeological, Linguistic, andGenetic Data for Inferring African Population History--Laura B. Scheinfeldt, Sameer Soi, and Sarah A. TishkoffPART II: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN GENOME6 Uniquely Human Evolution of Sialic Acid Genetics andBiology--Ajit Varki7 Bioenergetics, the Origins of Complexity, and the Ascent ofMan-Douglas C.
Wallace8 Genome-wide Patterns of Population Structure and Admixture AmongHispanic/Latino Populations--Katarzyna Bryc, Christopher Velez,Tatiana Karafet, Andres Moreno-Estrada, Andy Reynolds, Adam Auton,Michael Hammer, Carlos D.
Bustamante, and Harry Ostrer9 Human Skin Pigmentation as an Adaptation to UV Radiation--Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin10 Footprints of Nonsentient Design Inside the Human Genome--JohnC.
AvisePART III: CULTURAL EVOLUTION AND THE UNIQUENESS OF BEING HUMAN11 How Grandmother Effects Plus Individual Variation in FrailtyShape Fertility and Mortality: Guidance from Human-ChimpanzeeComparisons--Kristen Hawkes12 Gene-Culture Coevolution in the Age of Genomics--Peter J. Richerson, Robert Boyd, and Joseph Henrich13 The Cognitive Niche: Coevolution of Intelligence, Sociality, andLanguage--Steven Pinker14 A Role for Relaxed Selection in the Evolution of the LanguageCapacity--Terrence W.
Deacon15 Adaptive Specializations, Social Exchange, and the Evolution ofHuman Intelligence--Leda Cosmides, H.
Clark Barrett, and John Tooby16 The Difference of Being Human: Morality--Francisco J.
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