Behave
Book description
The New York Times Bestseller
"It's no exaggeration to say that Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read." -David P. Barash, The Wall Street Journal
"It has my vote for science book of the year." -Parul Sehgal, The New York Times
"Hands-down one of the best…
Why read it?
3 authors picked Behave as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
We’ve often been inspired by the insights that Sapolsky has drawn from his years of fieldwork with baboons in Africa, but this book is grander in scope than his previous work, it’s a tour de force examination of human nature and behaviour.
From one of the best natural history writers of our time, neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky draws on his deep expertise to trace the biological and evolutionary origins of our human capacity for two different kinds of behavioural strategy: morality, reconciliation and peace versus aggression, tribalism, and war.
From Kate's list on busting common myths about our human nature.
This book is fun and so interesting. I get the feeling that students of the author at Stanford were saying, “professor, you should write a book about the stuff we learned in this class.” And he really pulled it off. I learned what happens in your brain just before a behavior; what happens in your endocrine system in the minutes, hours, and days; what happens in your whole body genetically and epigenetically; and what happened evolutionarily to make humans the way we are! So so so interesting!
From Bruce's list on understanding and driving human behavior.
René Descartes must have turned over in his grave a few more times after renowned neuroendocrinologist Robert Sapolsky added this book to the growing body of research-based scholarship exposing the falsity of the Cartesian dualism between mind and body. What makes Behave so remarkable is Sapolsky’s chapter-by-chapter explanation of how human behavior is shaped by the “utterly intertwined” influences of neurobiology, perception, hormones, neurogenesis in the adult brain, epigenetic influences in the developing brain, genes, culture, and evolution. Sapolsky then uses this multifactorial approach to understand key behavioral challenges: us versus them distinctions, hierarchy, morality, empathy, religion, free will, and…
From Russell's list on social evolution, social neuroscience, and social connection.
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