Homo Novus - A Human Without Illusions [Hardcover]

Converging evidence from disciplines including sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and human biology forces us to adopt a new idea of what it means to be a human. As cherished concepts such as free will, na?ve realism, humans as creation's crowning glory fall and our moral roots in ape group dynamics become clearer, we have to take leave of many concepts that have been central to defining our humanness. What emerges is a new human, the homo novus, a human being without illusions.Leading authors from many different fields explore these issues by addressing a range of illusions and providing evidence for the need, despite considerable reluctance, to relinquish some of our most cherished ideas about ourselves.Revealing seven errors in the way we view the human species, this volume explores the homo novus -- an alternative view of what it is to be human. Leaders in the field present and discuss converging evidence supporting the homo novus, from various disciplines.Converging evidence from disciplines including sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and human biology forces us to adopt a new idea of what it means to be a human. As cherished concepts such as free will, na?ve realism, humans as creation's crowning glory fall and our moral roots in ape group dynamics become clearer, we have to take leave of many concepts that have been central to defining our humanness. What emerges is a new human, the homo novus, a human being without illusions.Leading authors from many different fields explore these issues by addressing a range of illusions and providing evidence for the need, despite considerable reluctance, to relinquish some of our most cherished ideas about ourselves.1 Introduction.- PART I Humans Are Exceptional.- 2 The Position of Man in the Cosmos.- 3 Living Differences.- 4 Nothing to Talk About.- PART II We Are Independent of Our Sociobiological Roots.- 5 The True Egoist Is Cooperative.- 6 The Social Brain and Its Implications.- 7 Why Most Theories Get ItWrong.-lS¦