The Arrogant Ape - The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters

An impassioned celebration of humility before the living world that leads us to a new understanding of other species--and Darwin considered humans one part of the web of life, not the apex of a natural hierarchy. Yet today many maintain that we are the most intelligent, virtuous, successful species that ever lived. This flawed thinking enables us to exploit the earth towards our own exclusive ends, throwing us into a perilous planetary imbalance. But is this view and way of life inevitable? Harvard primatologist Christine Webb has spent years researching the rich social, emotional, and cognitive lives of our closest living relatives. She exposes the ways that many scientific studies are biased against other species and reveals underappreciated complexities of nonhuman life--from the language of songbirds and prairie dogs, to the cultures of chimpanzees and reef fishes, to the acumen of plants and fungi. With compelling stories and fresh research she gives us a paradigm-shifting way of looking at other organisms on their own terms, one that is revolutionizing our perception both of them and of ourselves. Critiques of human exceptionalism tend to focus on our moral obligation towards other species. They overlook what humanity also stands to

Product details

• Authors: Christine Webb, Christine E Webb, Christine E. Webb, Webb Christine
• Publisher: Avery Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 16.09.2025
• EAN: 9780593543139
• ISBN: 978-0-593-54313-9
• No. of pages: 336
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 21 mm
• Subjects: Guides > Nature; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; NATURE / Animals / General, Evolution, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Evolution, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Wildlife: general interest, Social and cultural anthropology, Evolution / Evolutionary biology