The Origins of You

After tracking the lives of thousands of people from birth to midlife, four of the world’s preeminent psychologists reveal what they have learned about how humans develop.

This volume outlines the origins of a wide range of disciplines including astronomy, agricultural science, medicine, physics, chemistry, and natural history. It provides an overview of China’s history of science and technology, which can be traced back to the pre-Qin times when the arts had free expression and the schools of thought were unrestricted. It also includes a glossary and comparison of the chronicle of events in China and the West for reference. This is the first volume in the series History of Science and Technology in China.

What makes us human? What made us become the way we are? One way to answer these questions is to identify the traits that all humans share, traits that are universal features of all human societies. Another way to do so is to ask how humans differ from other species, particularly from our closest relatives, the nonhuman primates. The contributors to this book pursue both approaches, in an effort to understand how evolution has shaped modern human behavior and societies.