Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and WorstNew York Times bestseller • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • One of the Washington Post's 10 Best Books of the Year “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 "Immensely readable, often hilarious...Hands-down one of the best books I’ve read in years. I loved it." —Dina Temple-Raston, The Washington Post From the bestselling author of A Primate's Memoir and the forthcoming Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will comes a landmark, genre-defining examination of human behavior and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do? Behave is one of the most dazzling tours d’horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted. Moving across a range of disciplines, Sapolsky—a neuroscientist and primatologist—uncovers the hidden story of our actions. Undertaking some of our thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, and war and peace, Behave is a towering achievement—a majestic synthesis of cutting-edge research and a heroic exploration of why we ultimately do the things we do . . . for good and for ill. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
One THE BEHAVIOR | 15 |
Two ONE SECOND BEFORE | 21 |
Three SECONDS TO MINUTES BEFORE | 81 |
Four HOURS TO DAYS BEFORE | 99 |
Five DAYS TO MONTHS BEFORE | 137 |
Six ADOLESCENCE OR DUDE WHERES | 154 |
Seven BACK TO THE CRIB BACK TO THE WOMB | 174 |
Twelve HIERARCHY OBEDIENCE AND RESISTANCE | 425 |
Thirteen MORALITY AND DOING THE RIGHT THING | 478 |
Fourteen FEELING SOMEONES PAIN UNDERSTANDING | 521 |
Fifteen METAPHORS WE KILL BY | 553 |
Sixteen BIOLOGY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM | 580 |
Seventeen WAR AND PEACE | 614 |
EPILOGUE | 671 |
Neuroscience 101 | 679 |
Eight BACK TO WHEN YOU WERE JUST | 223 |
Nine CENTURIES TO MILLENNIA BEFORE | 266 |
Ten THE EVOLUTION OF BEHAVIOR | 328 |
Eleven US VERSUS THEM | 387 |
The Basics of Endocrinology | 707 |
Glossary of Abbreviations | 718 |
Illustration Credits | 774 |
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Common terms and phrases
action potential activation adolescents adult aggression American amygdala Androgen animals associated axon baboons behavior Biol biology brain regions cells chapter child childhood chimps cognitive cooperation Correlates cortical cultures dendritic spines disgust dlPFC dopamine effects emotional empathy environment epigenetic evolution example faces fear feel females frontal cortex function genes genetic glucocorticoids hippocampus Horm Behav hormone humans increases individual influences insula interactions involved JPSP kids killed kin selection learning less levels limbic limbic system male mirror neurons monkeys moral Moreover Nat Nsci Neural neurogenesis neuroimaging Neuroscience neurotransmitter nucleus accumbens occurs oxytocin pain parents percent person PNAS potential predict Prefrontal Cortex primates prosocial protein Psych Sci punishment receptors response reward role Sapolsky selection sensory serotonin sexual signal social someone species stress subjects synapse testosterone there’s things tion trait Twin typically University variant vasopressin versus violence vmPFC words