Too smart for our own good : the ecological predicament of humankind /

Too smart for our own good : the ecological predicament of humankind /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Dilworth, Craig.
Imprint:Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Description:xv, 530 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
Language:English
Subject:
Human evolution.
Human ecology.
Human ecology.
Human evolution.
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/8209563
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9780521764360
9780521757690 (pbk.)
Notes:Includes bibliographical references (p. 499-516) and index.
Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2010. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.
Summary:"We are destroying our natural environment at a constantly increasing pace, and in so doing undermining the preconditions of our own existence. Why is this so? This book reveals that our ecologically disruptive behavior is in fact rooted in our very nature as a species. Drawing on evolution theory, biology, anthropology, archaeology, economics, environmental science and history, this book explains the ecological predicament of humankind by placing it in the context of the first scientific theory of our species' development, taking over where Darwin left off. The theory presented is applied in detail to the whole of our seven-million-year history. Due to its comprehensiveness, and in part thanks to its extensive glossary and index, this book can function as a compact encyclopedia covering the whole development of Homo sapiens. It would also suit a variety of courses in the life and social sciences. Most importantly, Too Smart makes evident the very core of the paradigm to which our species must shift if it is to survive. Anyone concerned about the future of humankind should read this ground-breaking work. This book: Provides the first and only theory of humankind's development; Explains that economic and political (military) power have their respective biological bases in individual vs. group territoriality; Provides the first classification of human instincts: into the survival, sexual and social instincts; Provides the most inclusive characterization of different kinds of population check yet presented; Explains the importance of the anthropological, archaeological and economic findings of the past 50 years to understanding humankind's development; Clarifies the preconditions for human life on earth; Predicts what will happen to us in the near future"--Provided by publisher.
Table of Contents:
  • List of figures and tables
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • 1. Scientific ground rules
  • Principles of physics, chemistry and biology
  • Physical and biological systems
  • Genetics and homeostasis
  • 2. The new views in anthropology, archaeology and economics
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Economics
  • 3. Theoretical background to the vicious circle principle
  • The principle of population
  • Different kinds of population check
  • Population growth pushes technology
  • Ecological equilibrium, technological/economic development and economic growth
  • 4. The vicious circle principle of the development of humankind
  • Presentation of the vicious circle principle
  • Explication of the vicious circle principle
  • Conclusion
  • 5. The development of humankind
  • Apes and protohominids 7 million BP
  • The first hominids: Australopithecus 4 million BP
  • The first humans 2.5 million BP
  • The Neanderthals 230,000 BP
  • The Upper Palaeolithic in Europe 40,000 BP
  • The latter half of the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe 25,000 BP
  • The Palaeolithic-Mesolithic transformation 12,000 BP
  • VCP analysis of the hunter-gatherer era
  • VCP models of increasing complexity
  • The hunter-gatherer model
  • The horticultural (domestication) revolution 10,000 BP
  • VCP analysis of the horticultural era
  • The horticultural model
  • Mining metals 6000 BP
  • The agrarian (plough and irrigation) revolution 5000 BP
  • Colonisation and the (capitalistic) mercantile expansion 1500 AD
  • VCP analysis of the agrarian era
  • The agrarian model
  • The (capitalistic) industrial (fossil-fuel) revolution 1750 AD
  • VCP analysis of the industrial age
  • The industrial model
  • 6. The vicious circle today
  • Our use of minerals
  • Biotic consumption
  • Pollution
  • Extinctions
  • Population growth and checks; morals
  • Migration
  • Power begets more power: capitalism
  • The Third World
  • Global military spending and war
  • Economic growth
  • Disease
  • The 1950s-1960s peak and the subsequent lowering of the quality of life of the middle class
  • 7. ...and too dumb to change
  • Perspectives and worldviews
  • Planning
  • The pursuit of economic growth
  • Innovation
  • Nuclear energy
  • Agriculture
  • Medicine
  • Resource depletion
  • Pollution
  • Energy conservation
  • Alternative sources of energy
  • Population growth
  • Conflict
  • The Third World
  • Overshoot and the ecological revolution
  • Conclusion
  • Glossary
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index

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