On Human Nature

On Human Nature: The Biology and Sociology of What Made Us Human, 1st Edition, authored by Jonathan H. Turner, investigates the evolutionary foundations of human social life. Published by Routledge, the volume integrates sociology, evolutionary biology, cladistic analysis, and comparative neuroanatomy to assess the behavioral legacy shared by humans and great apes.

The volume explores how selection pressures altered this inheritance when early hominin ancestors shifted into terrestrial habitats. Turner explains how these environmental demands stimulated enhanced emotional capacities and fostered group orientation, creating the groundwork for larger brains, articulated speech, and culture.

Organized around overlapping cognitive, psychological, emotional, interaction, and community complexes, the book incorporates insights from primate ethology, brain science, and American Pragmatism.