Summary
	We humans are a most remarkable species. In just a few millionths of the age of the planet we have gone from being cavemen to where we are today. What is it about our behaviour that has made this possible, allowing us to transcend the Darwinian limitations of our biological genes? This book tries to answer that question, to understand how we behave and how this is inextricably linked to our astonishing rate of evolution over time, our progress as a species. Despite a great deal of research, there is little agreement among scientists as to what it is that motivates us and drives us forward. Researchers working in this area concentrate on narrow, highly specialised studies and have lost sight of the broader picture. There are no compelling theories of human behaviour that resonate with the experiences each and every one of us has of friends, colleagues and others. There are 6.6 billion people on this planet, all with their own ideas about how we behave and yet this fundamental question is apparently too hard to deal with. Could an outsider take a fresh look at what we know and what we do not? Surely the scientific method, re-examining research studies, reassessing conclusions and seeking a consilience across many different disciplines should work here as well as in any other area of scientific enquiry? It must be possible to get closer to a real understanding than we have already, perhaps by being more open to new ideas. As an active research astrophysicist working in the extraordinarily stimulating atmosphere of the University of Cambridge and interested in human behaviour and evolution, I decided to set out on a quest for answers. My quest led me to examine several current theories of human behaviour, and how that behaviour is determined and passed from one to another. I also looked at what we know about our rapid evolution as a species and how this is inextricably linked with the way we behave. Something has happened to our species that let us accelerate our evolution a thousandfold over what is possible with purely biological, Darwinian evolution. The answer may be easier to understand than might be imagined. Animals seek immortality by ensuring that their biological genes are propagated to later generations. Humans are much more concerned to leave behind something of what they have learned and achieved while on earth, some part of what is present in our brains and represents our achievements, our knowledge and our wisdom. We are principally social beings defined by our relationships with individuals and groups. All around us we see people trying to gain influence and power. Power enables us to influence others to see the world as we see it, to propagate our views and attitudes to things. The better our behaviour is adapted to the prevailing social environment in which we find ourselves, the more opportunities we have to influence others, just as those creatures best adapted to their physical environment are best able to propagate their biological genes. What is in our brains is therefore subject to a very similar form of natural selection for the behaviour we express in particular social environments, so I have called these our supergenes. The supergene concept includes everything that is held in our brains ? our values, ideas, attitudes and beliefs. Different subsets of our supergene pool are expressed in different social contexts. Our supergenes have allowed us humans to transcend the limitations of our biological genes, and to accelerate our evolution dramatically as a social species. This book, therefore, reports the results of this journey of discovery, looking at the current state of scientific knowledge of biological evolution and human behaviour studies to try to understand how these disparate areas of academic study may be reconciled. It is this consilience between many areas of knowledge that is today difficult to achieve because of increased specialisation by research scientists. From this I develop the concept of our supergenes and how important they are to us in determining our behaviour in a wide range of circumstances. It is a view of human behaviour that most can identify with directly. By using this model of human behaviour we can develop a more compelling insight into many aspects of human behaviour such as the way children develop and behave in groups, what makes us slavishly follow current fashions and fads, why childless or homosexual individuals contribute as much to human evolution as do those who have children, the motivations for altruism, heroism and terrorism, and why bad behaviour is adaptive. We can understand the importance of religion to so many and how our minds are affected by external pressures such as advertising and public relations. The supergene hypothesis of human behaviour has a very wide application. For the first time we have a single model that links human behaviour and human evolution inextricably and compellingly.

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