Behave Book Summary - Behave Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

Behave summary

Robert Sapolsky

The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

4.5 (237 ratings)
22 mins
Table of Contents

    Behave
    Summary of 9 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 9

    To understand human behavior, we must delve into the biology of the brain, culture and history.

    The saying goes that everything happens for a reason, and whether or not you believe this to be the case when it comes to the events that unfold in a lifetime, it’s certainly a valid statement when it comes to grasping human behavior.

    If we really want to get to grips with the factors that influence humanity's best and worst behaviors, we're going to have to delve deeply into human biology.

    Immediately before a given behavior occurs – such as the shooting of a gun – the oldest parts of the human brain kick into gear. We inherited these regions of the brain from our evolutionary ancestors, and these very regions are the ones that process our most basic instincts, like the fear of death. This is just the sort of emotional impulse that might lead a person to pull a trigger.

    But, in the seconds to minutes before the fatal moment occurs, the brain has been busy processing sensory data – particularly visual or auditory information – based on its immediate environment. This information from the senses impacts on how we act. In a war zone, for example, heightened sensory awareness of danger makes it much more likely that we'll act aggressively.

    However, the brain’s response isn’t randomly generated. In fact, our behavioral biology is deeply intertwined with human society, culture and history.

    Years to decades before a behavior takes place, we’ll have grown up in human societies that determine our behavior. Different societies will condition us to behave in different ways; in other words, we are more prone to violence if we were exposed and accustomed to constant violence earlier in our lives.

    And if we go back hundreds to thousands of years, we’d find ancestral geographies and ecologies have affected human behavior, for better and for worse.

    In short, if we’re going to get to the crux of the matter, we’re going to have to take an interdisciplinary approach to explain the complex origins of human behavior.

    Want to see all full key ideas from Behave?

    Key ideas in Behave

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Behave about?

    Humans are complex beings, and human behavior doubly so. Every human act is a result of a myriad of factors, from brain chemistry to social conditioning, that have developed over millennia. In Behave (2017), renowned professor Robert Sapolsky takes a journey into the depths of the human condition, demonstrating the reasons behind the best – and worst – of human behavior.

    Who should read Behave?

     

    • Anyone interested in behavioral psychology
    • Students of neurology or biology
    • Curious readers looking to gain a better understanding of their own minds

     

    About the Author

    Robert Sapolsky is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He has also written other highly acclaimed and popular science books including The Trouble with Testosterone and A Primate’s Memoir.

    Categories with Behave

    Books like Behave

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    27 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial