So You Think You're Human? by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

So You Think You're Human? by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

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Summary

You think you're human. But what does that mean? How can humanity be defined? This work shows how our concept of humankind has changed over time and how our understanding of this has been shaken by challenges from science and philosophy.

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So You Think You're Human? by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

You think you're human. But what does that mean? How can humanity be defined? Felipe Fernandez-Armesto takes us on an enlightening journey through the history of humankind to reveal the challenges to our most fundamental belief - that we are, and have always been, human. Chimps and humans are objectively so alike that an anthropologist from Mars might classify them together; advances in artificial intelligence mean that humans no longer have exclusive access to reason, consciousness and imagination; developments in genetics threaten humanity with an uncertain future. The harder we cling to the concept of humanity, the more slippery it becomes. But if it breaks down altogether, what will this mean for human values, human rights, and the defence of human dignity? So You Think You're Human? confronts these problems from a historical perspective, showing how our current understanding of what it means to be human has been shaken by new challenges from science and philosophy. FFA shows how our concept of humankind has changed over time, tracing its faltering expansion to its present limits and arguing that these limits are neither fixed or scientifically verifiable. Controversially, he proposes that we have further to go in developing our concept of humankind and that we need to rethink it as a matter of urgency.
Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe: -

Felipe Fernández-Armesto is currently the William P. Reynolds Professor of History at Notre Dame University, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Global History. Fernández-Armesto is also a member of the history faculty at Queen Mary College, University of London. The author, coauthor, or editor of more than twenty-five books, Fernández-Armesto's work has been translated into twenty-two languages. His books include Before Columbus; The Times Illustrated History of Europe; Columbus; Millennium: A History of the Last Thousand Years (the subject of a ten-part series on CNN); Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature; Near a Thousand Tables; The Americas; Ideas That Changed the World; Humankind: A Brief History; The Times Atlas of World Exploration; Reformations; Truth; and The Times Guide to the Peoples of Europe.

SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780192804174
ISBN 10 0192804170
Title So You Think You're Human?
Author Felipe Fernandez Armesto
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Oxford University Press
Year published 2004-05-01
Number of pages 208
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.