内容简介
Aneloquentexplorationofcreativity,TheOriginsofCreativitygrappleswiththequestionofhowthisuniquelyhumanexpression―socentraltoouridentityasindividualsand,collectively,asaspecies―cameaboutandhowithasmanifesteditselfthroughoutthehistoryofourspecies.Inthisprofoundandlyricalbook,oneofourmostcelebratedbiologistsoffersasweepingexaminationoftherelationshipbetweenthehumanitiesandthesciences:whattheyoffertoeachother,howtheycanbeunited,andwheretheystillfallshort.Bothendeavours,EdwardO.Wilsonreveals,havetheirrootsinhumancreativity―thedefiningtraitofourspecies.Reflectingonthedeepestoriginsoflanguage,storytelling,andart,Wilsondemonstrateshowcreativitybegannottenthousandyearsago,aswehavelongassumed,butoveronehundredthousandyearsagointhePaleolithicage.Chroniclingthisevolutionofcreativityfromprimateancestorstohumans,TheOriginsofCreativityshowshowthehumanities,spurredonbytheinventionoflanguage,haveplayedalargelyunexaminedroleindefiningourspecies.Andindoingso,Wilsonexploreswhatwecanlearnabouthumannaturefromasurprisingrangeofcreativeendeavors―theinstincttocreategardens,theuseofmetaphorsandironyinspeech,andthepowerofmusicandsong.Ourachievementsinscienceandthehumanities,Wilsonnotes,makeusuniquelyadvancedasaspecies,butalsogiveusthepotentialtobesupremelydangerous,mostworryinglyinourabuseoftheplanet.Thehumanitiesinparticularsufferfromakindofanthropomorphism,encumberedbyabeliefthatwearetheonlyspeciesamongmillionsthatseemtomatter,yetWilsonoptimisticallyrevealshowresearcherswillhavetoaddressthisparloussituationbypushingfurtherintotherealmofscience,especiallyfieldssuchasevolutionarybiology,neuroscience,andanthropology.Witheloquenceandhumanity,Wilsoncallsforatransformational"ThirdEnlightenment,"inwhichtheblendingoftheseendeavorswillgiveusadeeperunderstandingofthehumanconditionandourcrucialrelationshipwiththenaturalworld.6illustrations
作者简介
EdwardO.Wilsoniswidelyrecognizedasoneoftheworld’spreeminentbiologistsandnaturalists.Theauthorofmorethanthirtybooks,includingTheSocialConquestofEarth,TheMeaningofHumanExistence,andLetterstoaYoungScientist,WilsonisaprofessoremeritusatHarvardUniversity.ThewinneroftwoPulitzerPrizes,heliveswithhiswife,IreneWilson,inLexington,Massachusetts.