Humanities 2012, 1(3), 205-228; doi:10.3390/h1030205
Article

The Consequences of Human Behavior

Derek Hodgsonemail
Palaeocentre, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
Received: 26 October 2012; in revised form: 26 November 2012 / Accepted: 27 November 2012 / Published: 10 December 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Humanity’s Future)
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Abstract: Human behavior is founded on a complex interaction of influences that derive from sources both extraneous and intrinsic to the brain. It is the ways these various influences worked together in the past to fashion modern human cognition that can help elucidate the probable course of future human endeavor. A particular concern of this chapter is the way cognition has been shaped and continues to depend on prevailing environmental and ecological conditions. Whether the human predicament can be regarded simply as another response to such conditions similar to that of other organisms or something special will also be addressed. More specifically, it will be shown that, although the highly artificial niche in which most humans now live has had profound effects on ways of thinking, constraints deriving from a shared evolutionary heritage continue to have substantial effects on behavior. The way these exigencies interact will be explored in order to understand the implications for the future wellbeing of humanity.
Keywords: human evolution; population; mind; environment; primates; tools; information processing; brain

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hodgson, D. The Consequences of Human Behavior . Humanities 2012, 1, 205-228.

AMA Style

Hodgson D. The Consequences of Human Behavior . Humanities. 2012; 1(3):205-228.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hodgson, Derek. 2012. "The Consequences of Human Behavior ." Humanities 1, no. 3: 205-228.

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