A Brief Natural History of Civilization

Why a Balance Between Cooperation and Competition Is Vital to Humanity

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A Brief Natural History of Civilization

By: Mark Bertness

Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby

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About this listen

Offering a bold new understanding of who we are, where we came from, and where we are going, noted ecologist Mark Bertness argues that human beings and their civilization are the products of the same self-organization, evolutionary adaptation, and natural selection processes that have created all other life on Earth.

Bertness follows the evolutionary process from the primordial soup of two billion years ago through today, exploring the ways opposing forces of competition and cooperation have led to current assemblages of people, animals, and plants.

Bertness' thoughtful examination of human history from the perspective of natural history provides new insights about why and how civilization developed as it has and explores how humans, as a species, might have to consciously overrule our evolutionary drivers to survive future challenges.

Biological Sciences

Civilization

Ecology

Evolution

Evolution & Genetics

Nature & Ecology

Outdoors & Nature

Science

World

Natural History

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