Bøger af Barbara J. King

Human attitudes towards other species are inevitably complex. We love the dog and eat the pig, or, we love the bison and eat the bison. Who exactly are these fellow creatures? The newest science from anthropology, psychology, and zoology can help us figure out some answers to that question by showing us how the animals we eat-- for some the octopus or the chimpanzee, for many others the chicken and the goatthink, feel, and act as distinct individual beings. Who are we eating? In this insightful exploration of the animals that humans consume, Barbara King does not tell us what or whom we should be eating, but rather she invites us to a smorgasbord of thought and reflection on the sentience and behaviors of the consumed. By getting to know these animals better, we can begin to taste the different ways they experience the world with awareness and intention, and it brings greater connection between us and those animals than we encounter in shrink-wrapped grocery-store products. This book shows us how valuable it is to understand who we eat, no matter how varied that consumption is. From octopi to crickets to chimpanzees, the animals we consume deserve a better appreciation from all who encounter them in a culinary experience, and there is no host of this scientific and behavioral feast than Barbara King. "

Where does religion come from? Evolving God examines the origins of religion in prehistory and how the evolution of primates gave rise to behaviors that we identify as spiritual. As a biological anthropologist, King has studied monkey and ape behavior in Africa and approaches the topic from her observations of individuals and their connections to each other and to their larger group. Researchers have reported reconciliation behavior, rituals, and meaning-making among apes. King suggests a religious imagination emerged out of a sense of belonging to a group and cognitive empathy. She presents a wide array of examples drawn from archeology, biology, and anthropology from prehistoric hominids to the first evidence of human religion. The overviews of the historical record and opposing positions about the origins of religion are a very useful introduction to evolution and religion in prehistory. This Second Edition includes a 25-page Afterword on recent studies relating to King s work and how her own ideas have evolved."

From the time of our earliest childhood encounters with animals, we casually ascribe familiar emotions to them. The author argues that we can - and should - attend to animal emotions. She draws our attention to the specific case of grief, and relates story after story of animals mourning lost companions, mates, or friends.

Using dynamic systems theory, employed to study human communication, King demonstrates the complexity of apes' social communication, and the extent to which their interactions generate meaning. As King describes, apes create meaning primarily through their body movements-and go well beyond conveying messages about food, mating, or predators.

The Information Continuum creates a synthetic view of the evolution of communication among primates. King contends that the crucial element in the evolution of information acquisition and transfer is the acquired ability to donate information to others.