Life began about four billion years ago on our planet. Like an old patchwork quilt, evolution stitched the human being together from parts of ancient species now long extinct. Like any species, humans have hundreds or even thousands of traits that have been passed down through time. The evolutionary age of our different traits can be told from how widely distributed they are among today's living creatures. The book aims to explain some human traits and how we--as social, sexual, language-obsessed technological apes--evolved into our own modern species. Combining hard science with philosophical thought, this work aims to explain where humans have come from, and where we are going. Free of complicated jargon, it breaks down the concept of evolution starting with the human body's most basic component--our cells. Building from there, chapters explore which traits became inherited over evolutionary time, ultimately projecting what could be next for our species.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: The Patchwork Human, Old and New Parts 1. The Human Machine What Do People Think? People versus Machines Mind, Spirit, Soul Matter 2. Cells, Genes, and Other Small Parts Cells Molecules Small and Large Chromosomes, Genes, and Proteins 3. The Embryo: Construction and Continuity Early Development Continuity 4. Evolution: The Process The Process of Evolution Evolutionary Mechanisms Adaptation and the Randomness and Purposelessness of Evolution “For the good of the species” Are We Still Evolving? 5. Evolution: The Pattern Darwin’s Tree Evolutionary Genetics Fossils The Genus Homo and Its Ancestors Sea Urchin Interview  6. Bigger Is Sometimes Better  7. Bilateral Symmetry  8. The Sexy Beast, Part I The Biological Basics of Sex Sperm and Egg Logic The Mating Dance: The Logic of Fidelity and Promiscuity  9. Up the Mammalian Path Origins Mammary Glands and Milk The Placenta 10. Fur Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow 11. A ­Warm-Blooded Animal Mechanisms Evolution 12. Upright Living Forelimbs and Hind Limbs Fossil Evidence 13. The Brain Brain Development and Structure Some Comparisons Aspects of Brain Evolution Brain Function 14. The Sexy Beast, Part II The Penis and the Vagina External Testes How Human Brain Size Influences the Mating System Conspicuous Mammary Glands Sex and Pleasure Ovulation Now? Monogamous or Polygamous? Menopause 15. On Being Social Basic Elements of Being Social Teaching and Learning Cooperation Altruism ­Mind-Reading, or ­Perspective-Taking Evolutionary Origins of Sociality 16. The Truly Musical Animal When? How? The Muses Weigh In As Part of Our Biology, Why Music? 17. The Talkative Ape The Anatomy of Speech and Language Features of Human Language Precursors of Language in Animal Communications? An Evolutionary Pathway for Language 18. Human Races, Real and Imagined The Concept of Race The Evolution of Human Races Racial Prejudice In Summary 19. The Future of the Only Remaining Human Species Homo sapiens Forever A New Species of Homo? Extinction Once and For All Slow Extinction by Climate Change Appendix I: Tissues, Systems, Organs, and Cell Types Appendix II: Some Musical Preferences Background and Further Reading Index