Summary
Robert M. Sapolsky’s "Behave" synthesizes cutting-edge research to explain why humans act as they do. The book undertakes an exploration of thorny questions relating to tribalism, xenophobia, hierarchy, competition, and war and peace, aiming to reveal the hidden story behind our actions.
Sapolsky, a neuroscientist and primatologist, moves across disciplines to offer a genre-defining examination of human behavior, providing answers to the fundamental question of why we do what we do, for better or worse.
Key concepts
- Tribalism — A focus of the book, examining how group identity influences behavior.
- Xenophobia — Explored as a driver of human actions, alongside tribalism.
- Hierarchy — Analyzed as a factor contributing to understanding human behavior.
- Competition — Investigated as a key element in the biology of human actions.
- War and Peace — These complex human phenomena are addressed within the biological context of behavior.
From the book
Description: New 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…
Snippet: New 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.” ...