Despite the many well-documented similarities — genetic, cognitive, behavioral, social — between our human selves and our evolutionary forebears, a significant gulf remains between us
Despite the many well-documented similarities — genetic, cognitive, behavioral, social — between our human selves and our evolutionary forebears, a significant gulf remains between us and them. Why is that? How did it come about? And how did we come to be the way we are?
In this book fourteen distinguished scholars — including humanist, atheist, and theist voices — address such questions as they explore how and when human personhood emerged. Representing various disciplines, the contributors all offer significant insights into new scientific research about the origins of human nature — research that challenges some traditional views.
CONTRIBUTORS
Francisco J. Ayala
Justin L. Barrett
Roy F. Baumeister
Warren S. Brown
Richard W. Byrne
Matthew J. Jarvinen
Malcolm Jeeves
Timothy O’Connor
Lynn K. Paul
Colin Renfrew
Ian Tattersall
Anthony C. Thiselton
Alan J. Torrance
Adam Zeman
N. T. Wright — University of St. Andrews
“Behind the surface noises of power, politics, and money, every generation urgently needs to grapple with the great intellectual and practical puzzles: What makes us human, and what does it take to create a wise and flourishing human society? In this book internationally acclaimed scholars explore insights from theology, biblical studies, and philosophy, as well as the relevant sciences, in the exhilarating effort to tackle these questions from as many angles as possible. This book is both weighty and provocative. It offers no easy answers, but much food for thought — thought that might just lead to action.”
Agustín Fuentes— University of Notre Dame
“Weaving seemingly disparate perspectives into a coherent, or at least congruent, set of ideas is a remarkable feat — even more so when the topic is as complex as the emergence of personhood. Malcolm Jeeves has put together a must-read collection of essays that deftly circumnavigates some of the barriers to discourse between C. P. Snow’s two cultures and opens up a space for sincere and engaged dialogue.”
Colin Humphreys
— University of Cambridge
“Who are we? What does it mean to be human? Are humans special? If so, what makes us special? These are some of the most important questions we can ask. The Emergence of Personhood, written by experts from a range of disciplines, is the best book I know on the subject. It deserves to be widely read by scientists, theologians, and the general public.”
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Malcolm Jeeves is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. His previous books include From Cells to Souls — and Beyond: Changing Portraits of Human Nature and Rethinking Human Nature: A Multidisciplinary Approach, both companions to this volume.
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