The Origins of Creativity

  • 5h 33m 58s
  • Edward O. Wilson
  • Recorded Books, Inc.
  • 2017

"Creativity is the unique and defining trait of our species, and its ultimate goal, self-understanding", begins Edward O. Wilson's sweeping examination of the humanities and its relationship to the sciences. By studying fields as diverse as paleontology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience, Wilson demonstrates that human creativity began not 10,000 years ago, as we have long assumed, but over 100,000 years ago in the Paleolithic Age.

Chronicling the evolution of creativity from primates to humans, Wilson shows how the humanities, in large part, spurred on by the invention of language, have played a previously unexamined role in defining our species. Exploring a surprising range of creative endeavors - the instinct to create gardens, the use of metaphors and irony in speech, the power of music and song- Wilson proposes a transformational "Third Enlightenment" in which the blending of science and humanities will enable a deeper understanding of the human condition and how it ultimately originated.

In this Audiobook

  • CHAPTER 1 - THE REACH OF CREATIVITY
  • CHAPTER 2 - THE BIRTH OF THE HUMANITIES
  • CHAPTER 3 - LANGUAGE
  • CHAPTER 4 - INNOVATION
  • CHAPTER 5 - AESTHETIC SURPRISE
  • CHAPTER 6 - LIMITATIONS OF THE HUMANITIES
  • CHAPTER 7 - THE YEARS OF NEGLECT
  • CHAPTER 8 - ULTIMATE CAUSES
  • CHAPTER 9 - BEDROCK
  • CHAPTER 10 - BREAKTHROUGH
  • CHAPTER 11 - GENETIC CULTURE
  • CHAPTER 12 - HUMAN NATURE
  • CHAPTER 13 - WHY NATURE IS MOTHER
  • CHAPTER 14 - THE HUNTER'S TRANCE
  • CHAPTER 15 - GARDENS
  • CHAPTER 16 - METAPHORS
  • CHAPTER 17 - ARCHETYPES
  • CHAPTER 18 - THE MOST DISTANT ISLAND
  • CHAPTER 19 - IRONY: A VICTORY OF THE MIND
  • CHAPTER 20 - THE THIRD ENLIGHTENMENT
SHOW MORE
FREE ACCESS