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Life Strategies, Human Evolution, Environmental Design

Toward a Biological Theory of Health

  • Book
  • © 1978

Overview

Authors:
  1. Valerius Geist

    1. Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
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  2. Organism Theory: The Dictates of Genes, the Meanings of Environment

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 1-23

  3. Cognition—Predictability

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 24-40

  4. Communication

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 41-61

  5. Aggression

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 62-85

  6. Dominance Displays: The Biology of Art, Pride—and Materialism

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 86-115

  7. How Genes Communicate With the Environment—The Biology of Inequality

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 116-144

  8. Mammalian Systems

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 145-171

  9. Life Forms And Extinction

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 172-184

  10. The Ice Ages

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 185-210

  11. Prehumans

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 211-240

  12. The Homo erectus Stage

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 241-268

  13. The First Advance to the Glaciers

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 269-300

  14. On the Evolution of Modern Man

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 301-353

  15. From Periglacial to Artificial Environments

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 354-399

  16. Health, Professionals, and Creature Comforts

    • Valerius Geist
    Pages 400-435

  17. Back Matter

    Pages 436-498
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Keywords

About this book

Consider that you were asked how to ensure human survival. Where would you begin? Conservation of resources jumps to mind. We need to conserve resources in order that economic activities may continue. Alas, this is a false start. Resources are always defined by a given economic system, and only it determines what is and what is not a resource. Therefore, conserving resources implies only the perpetua­ tion of the appropriate economic system. Conservation of resources as we know them has nothing to do with the survival of mankind, but it has very much to do with the survival of the industrial system and society we live in today. We have to start, therefore, at a more basic level. This level, some may argue, is addressed by ensuring for human beings "clean genes. " Again, this is a mistaken beginning. It is thoroughly mistaken-for reasons of science. It is a false start because malfunctioning organs and morphological structures are not only due to deleterious hereditary factors but particularly due to unfavorable environments during early growth and development. Moreover, eugenics is not acceptable to any but a small fraction of society. Eugenics may not be irrelevant to our future, but is premature and should be of little concern until we understand how human genes and environment interact.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Valerius Geist

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Life Strategies, Human Evolution, Environmental Design

  • Book Subtitle: Toward a Biological Theory of Health

  • Authors: Valerius Geist

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-6325-8

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1978

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4612-6327-2Published: 09 October 2011

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4612-6325-8Published: 11 November 2013

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXII, 495

  • Number of Illustrations: 9 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Life Sciences, general, Biomedicine general

  • Industry Sectors: Biotechnology, Consumer Packaged Goods, Engineering, Pharma

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