The Human Instinct cover art

The Human Instinct

How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Human Instinct

By: Kenneth R. Miller
Narrated by: Fred Sanders
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

From one of America’s best-known biologists, a revolutionary new way of thinking about evolution that shows “why, in light of our origins, humans are still special” (Edward J. Larson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evolution).

Once we had a special place in the hierarchy of life on Earth—a place confirmed by the literature and traditions of every human tribe. But then the theory of evolution arrived to shake the tree of human understanding to its roots. To many of the most passionate advocates for Darwin’s theory, we are just one species among multitudes, no more significant than any other. Even our minds are not our own, they tell us, but living machines programmed for nothing but survival and reproduction.

In The Human Instinct, Brown University biologist Kenneth R. Miller “confronts both lay and professional misconceptions about evolution” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), showing that while evolution explains how our bodies and brains were shaped, that heritage does not limit or predetermine human behavior. In fact, Miller argues in this “highly recommended” (Forbes) work that it is only thanks to evolution that we have the power to shape our destiny.

Equal parts natural science and philosophy, The Human Instinct makes an “absorbing, lucid, and engaging…case that it was evolution that gave us our humanity” (Ursula Goodenough, professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis).
Biological Sciences Evolution Evolution & Genetics History & Philosophy Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Religious Studies Science Thought-Provoking Natural History Consciousness Human Brain Paleontology

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Atheist's Guide to Reality cover art
The Ethical Brain cover art
Science Friction cover art
Darwin on Trial cover art
The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith cover art
On the Nature of Things cover art
Ever Since Darwin cover art
Darwin's House of Cards cover art
The Panda's Thumb cover art
Ignorance cover art
Cognitive Science, Religion, and Theology: From Human Minds to Divine Minds cover art
Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion cover art
Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist (MIT Press) cover art
Darwin Devolves cover art
The Revolutionary Phenotype cover art
How Evolution Explains Everything About Life cover art

Critic reviews

“Following in Darwin’s footsteps, Miller makes the slam-dunk case for why, in light of our origins, humans are still special.”
“Absorbing, lucid, and engaging. An ELOQUENT and deeply grounded case that it was evolution that gave us our humanity.”
“Here is a clear-eyed look at the use and sometime misuse of evolutionary theory.”
“Fascinating.... [The Human Instinct] confronts both lay and professional misconceptions about evolution from both scientific and philosophical perspectives.”
“Insightful.... [Miller’s] universe is a kaleidoscope of dazzling evolutionary possibilities.”
No reviews yet