Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior (Transcript)

By Mark Leary

Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior is the companion book to the audio/video series of the same name. It contains a full transcript of the series as well as the complete course guidebook which includes lecture notes, bibliography, and more.

About this series:

We live in a world of cities - for the first time ever, the majority of the population lives in an urban environment - and reflecting on ancient models of the "city" as a human phenomenon offers important lessons for our culture today. Cities of the Ancient World is your opportunity to survey the breadth of the ancient world through the context of its urban development. Taught by esteemed Professor Steven L. Tuck, of Miami University, these 24 eye-opening lectures not only provide an invaluable look at the design and architecture of ancient cities, they also offer a flesh-and-blood glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary people and the worlds they created. Cities of the Ancient World gives you insight into cities large and small, famous and obscure. Ultimately, however, this is a course about people, not just buildings. Studying these cities will give you a new appreciation for the remarkable cultures of the ancient world, from the ruins of Uruk to the Golden Age of Athens, and spur you to reflect on what makes a city survive. More than anything else, Cities of the Ancient World is a course about human beings - what life was like in these cities and how people lived.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Great Courses
• Release date: Apr 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781598038293

Book preview

Reviews for Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior (Transcript)

[liscarey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Most of us want to understand human behavior, but it's often a puzzle. Why do siblings, born and raised in the same family, turn out so different? Why do identical twins have noticeably different personalities--and yet, also share some personality traits and preferences, even if they were adopted out and raised in different families? How different are men and women really? Why do we have behaviors that, in modern society, seem wildly maladaptive?There's a lot of interesting material here, well-organized, and well-presented. There were a few occasions when I wanted to shout, "Have you met human beings?" A notable one: when he cited conflicts over football games as "unimportant." Seriously? Whether it's American football or the kind the rest of the world plays, surely everyone agrees that's life or death! Um, well, yes, that's a joke. But only a little one. Don't diss someone's chosen team!But seriously, the subject matter is interesting, and the presentation is entertaining and absorbing.Recommended.I bought this audiobook.