The Human Condition is a collection of papers by leading evolutionary biologists and philosophers of science that reflect on the Darwinian Revolution as it relates to the human condition at levels ranging from the molecular to the theological. The book focuses on understanding the evolutionary origin of humans and their biological and cultural traits. The Human Condition is organized into three parts: Human Phylogenetic History and the Paleontological Record; Structure and Function of the Human Genome; and Cultural Evolution and the Uniqueness of Being Human.



This fourth volume from the In the Light of Evolution (ILE) series, based on a series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia, was designed to promote the evolutionary sciences. Each volume explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. Individually and collectively, the ILE series interprets phenomena in various areas of biology through the lens of evolution, addresses some of the most intellectually engaging as well as pragmatically important societal issues of our times, and fosters a greater appreciation of evolutionary biology as a consolidating foundation for the life sciences.



Table of Contents


Front Matter
PART I: HUMAN PHYLOGENETIC HISTORY AND THE PALEONTOLOGICAL RECORD
1 Reconstructing Human Evolution: Achievements, Challenges, and Opportunities--Bernard Wood
2 Terrestrial Apes and Phylogenetic Trees--Juan Luis Arsuaga
3 Phylogenomic Evidence of Adaptive Evolution in the Ancestry of Humans-Morris Goodman and Kirstin N. Sterner
4 Human Adaptations to Diet, Subsistence, and Ecoregion Are Due to Subtle Shifts in Allele Frequency--Angela M. Hancock, David B. Witonsky, Edvard Ehler, Gorka Alkorta-Aranburu, Cynthia Beall, Amha Gebremedhin, Rem Sukernik, Gerd Utermann, Jonathan Pritchard, Graham Coop, and Anna Di Rienzo
5 Working Toward a Synthesis of Archaeological, Linguistic, and Genetic Data for Inferring African Population History--Laura B. Scheinfeldt, Sameer Soi, and Sarah A. Tishkoff
PART II: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN GENOME
6 Uniquely Human Evolution of Sialic Acid Genetics and Biology--Ajit Varki
7 Bioenergetics, the Origins of Complexity, and the Ascent of Man-Douglas C. Wallace
8 Genome-wide Patterns of Population Structure and Admixture Among Hispanic/Latino Populations--Katarzyna Bryc, Christopher Velez, Tatiana Karafet, Andres Moreno-Estrada, Andy Reynolds, Adam Auton, Michael Hammer, Carlos D. Bustamante, and Harry Ostrer
9 Human Skin Pigmentation as an Adaptation to UV Radiation--Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin
10 Footprints of Nonsentient Design Inside the Human Genome--John C. Avise
PART III: CULTURAL EVOLUTION AND THE UNIQUENESS OF BEING HUMAN
11 How Grandmother Effects Plus Individual Variation in Frailty Shape Fertility and Mortality: Guidance from Human-Chimpanzee Comparisons--Kristen Hawkes
12 Gene–Culture Coevolution in the Age of Genomics--Peter J. Richerson, Robert Boyd, and Joseph Henrich
13 The Cognitive Niche: Coevolution of Intelligence, Sociality, and Language--Steven Pinker
14 A Role for Relaxed Selection in the Evolution of the Language Capacity--Terrence W. Deacon
15 Adaptive Specializations, Social Exchange, and the Evolution of Human Intelligence--Leda Cosmides, H. Clark Barrett, and John Tooby
16 The Difference of Being Human: Morality--Francisco J. Ayala
References
Index