Human Nature and the Evolution of Society - Paperback

by Stephen K. Sanderson (Author)

If evolution has changed humans physically, has it also affected human behavior? Drawing on evolutionary psychology, sociobiology, and human behavioral ecology, Human Nature and the Evolution of Society explores the evolutionary dynamics underlying social life.

In this introduction to human behavior and the organization of social life, Stephen K. Sanderson discusses traditional subjects like mating behavior, kinship, parenthood, status-seeking, and violence, as well as important topics seldom included in books of this type, especially gender, economies, politics, foodways, race and ethnicity, and the arts. Examples and research on a wide range of human societies, both industrial and nonindustrial, are integrated throughout. With chapter summaries of key points, thoughtful discussion questions, and important terms defined within the text, the result is a broad-ranging and comprehensive consideration of human society, thoroughly grounded in an evolutionary perspective.

Back Jacket

Sanderson s new book provides a great service, surveying and summarizing a vast quantity of research on evolution and human behavior in a way that will be accessible to general readers and students while also engaging and enlightening experts in the field.
Lee Cronk, Rutgers University
"This book does an excellent job demonstrating the utility of evolutionary theory in social science in a way that students can easily understand."
Jennie R. Brown, Franklin Pierce University
If evolution has changed humans physically, has it also affected human behavior? Drawing on evolutionary psychology, sociobiology, and human behavioral ecology, "Human Nature and the Evolution of Society "explores the evolutionary dynamics underlying social life.
In this introduction to human behavior and the organization of social life, Stephen K. Sanderson discusses traditional subjects like mating behavior, kinship, parenthood, status-seeking, and violence, as well as important topics seldom included in books of this type, especially gender, economies, politics, foodways, race and ethnicity, and the arts. Examples and research on a wide range of human societies, both industrial and nonindustrial, are integrated throughout. With chapter summaries of key points, thoughtful discussion questions, and important terms defined within the text, the result is a broad-ranging and comprehensive consideration of human society, thoroughly grounded in an evolutionary perspective.
Stephen K. Sanderson taught for thirty-one years in the department of sociology and anthropology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and he is currently a visiting professor of sociology at the University of California-Riverside. He specializes in evolution and human behavior, sociological and anthropological theory, and long-term social evolution. He is the author or editor of twelve books, including "The Evolution of Human Sociality: A Darwinian Conflict Perspective" and "Evolutionism and Its Critics." He a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Human Behavior and Evolution Society."

Author Biography

Stephen K. Sanderson taught for thirty-one years in the department of sociology and anthropology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and he is currently a visiting professor of sociology at the University of California-Riverside. He specializes in evolution and human behavior, sociological and anthropological theory, and long-term social evolution. He is the author or editor of twelve books, including The Evolution of Human Sociality: A Darwinian Conflict Perspective and Evolutionism and Its Critics. He a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Human Behavior and Evolution Society.