‘Insightful and breathtaking.’ Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens

‘Bold and sweeping.’ Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

‘Profoundly thought-provoking.’ Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics

How our evolved psychology has shaped the past, present, and future of humanity. Each of us is endowed with a legacy. A set of ancient biases, shaped through countless centuries of natural and cultural selection, that influence every aspect of our behavior.

For generations, this legacy has led us to ever greater heights, fostering the development of more sophisticated technologies, more organized religions, more extensive empires. But now, for the first time, it is failing. We are on a course toward an unprecedented future of political polarization, deadlier wars, and environmental disaster.

In the work "Legacy," acclaimed anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse offers an extensive review of how our evolved biases have shaped humanity's past and threaten its future. Revealing a groundbreaking new way of perceiving our collective history – which combines psychological experiments, field research, and big data – Whitehouse introduces three biases that shape human behavior everywhere: conformity, religiosity, and tribalism.

These biases have caused the greatest transformations in human history, from the birth of agriculture and the arrival of the first kings, to the rise and fall of humanistic sacrifices and the creation of multinational empires. Yet today they are leading us to destruction. Delving deep into tribes of New Guinea, Libyan militias, and advertising agencies, Whitehouse shows how the tools we once used to manage our biases are unraveling, with devastating consequences for us all.

Discovering how human nature has shaped our collective history, "Legacy" reveals an unexpected new path to solving our most urgent problems. The result is a powerful re-evaluation of the human journey; one that transforms our understanding of who we are and who we could be.

Pages: 368, Dimensions: 12.8x12.8cm