Verbs, Bones, and Brains: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Nature
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Overview
”A benchmark collection of essays on the contemporary understanding of human nature. . . . [engaging] biology and anthropology to theology and philosophy." —Robin W. Lovin, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics emeritus, Southern Methodist University, author of What Do We Do When No One is Listening: Leading the Church in a Polarized Society
The last few decades have seen an unprecedented surge of empirical and philosophical research into the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens, the origins of the mind/brain, and human culture. This research has sparked heated debates about the nature of human beings and how knowledge about humans from the sciences and humanities should be properly understood. The goal of Verbs, Bones, and Brains: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Nature is to engage these themes and present current debates, discussions, and discourse for a range of readers. The contributors bring the discussion to life with key experts outlining major concepts paired with cross-disciplinary commentaries in order to create a novel approach to thinking about, and with, human natures. Throughout, they emphasize the importance of seeking a convergence in our views on human nature, despite metaphysical disagreements. They caution that if convergence eludes us and a common ground cannot be found, this is itself a relevant result: it would reveal to us how deeply our questions about ourselves are connected to our basic metaphysical assumptions. Instead, their focus is on how the interdisciplinary and possibly transdisciplinary conversation can be enhanced in order to identify and develop a common ground on what constitutes human nature.
“A landmark volume. . . . It shows the fruitfulness of a mutually respectful and yet rigorous approach to cross-disciplinary engagement." (William Storrar, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, NJ, editor of A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology
“Fascinating, well-organized, and well-edited." — Choice
“Human nature is a difficult topic: it has major relevance to many social debates raging today, and writers in anthropology, psychology, history, and philosophy have long wrestled with it. Each of these fields is represented here. . . . The collection is fascinating, well organized, and well edited, and its interdisciplinary nature led the contributors to define key terms, a benefit to lay readers.” —Choice
"Agustín Fuentes and Aku Visala have produced a benchmark collection of essays on the contemporary understanding of human nature. Their work engages very different fields of study, from biology and anthropology to theology and philosophy, yet the authors clearly convey the idea that they are dealing with a shared set of questions while making the case for this transdisciplinary approach to the problem. Engaging and accessible, the volume opens up many opportunities for further exploration." —Robin W. Lovin, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics emeritus, Southern Methodist University
Agustín Fuentes is professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame.
- Title: Verbs, Bones, and Brains: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Nature
- Authors: Agustín Fuentes, Aku Visala
- Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 294
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780268101176, 9780268101145, 0268101140, 0268101175
- Resource ID: LLS:9780268101176
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2026-03-19T00:12:42Z
Aku Visala is a university researcher in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland.