The Deep History of Ourselves

The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains

By: Joseph LeDoux

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

A leading neuroscientist offers a history of the evolution of the brain from unicellular organisms to the complexity of animals and human beings today

Renowned neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux digs into the natural history of life on earth to provide a new perspective on the similarities between us and our ancestors in deep time. This page-turning survey of the whole of terrestrial evolution sheds new light on how nervous systems evolved in animals, how the brain developed, and what it means to be human.

In The Deep History of Ourselves, LeDoux argues that the key to understanding human behavior lies in viewing evolution through the prism of the first living organisms. By tracking the chain of the evolutionary timeline he shows how even the earliest single-cell organisms had to solve the same problems we and our cells have to solve each day. Along the way, LeDoux explores our place in nature, how the evolution of nervous systems enhanced the ability of organisms to survive and thrive, and how the emergence of what we humans understand as consciousness made our greatest and most horrendous achievements as a species possible.

*Includes a PDF of original reference illustrations from the text

Very interesting and convincing

The relationship between emotions and consciousness is discussed quite rigorously (starting with mono cellular organisms). Though I still would vouch for other animals also having emotions and consciousness the book convinced me that currently there is no hard scientific evidence to support this view (yet also none/not enough for the opposing view).

loved it but I'm a nerd

Fascinating and unifying in my opinion. A great summary of brain evolution and incorporates the most current research to explain how emotions are necessarily conscious pattern-completions of situations we find ourselves in. Not sure what competing theories there are but this one is pretty interesting.

Fascinating and Epic

An enjoyable and easy read if you have a minimal background in biology, although the sections with extensive discussion of brain regions may overwhelm.

I’m convinced of the bulk of his argument, although I think he fails to fully register the importance of emotional content carried in language, its likely exaptive primacy for linguistic development, and the implications of that.

The Evolutionary Take I have been looking for

The depth and breadth here, particularly in matters of cognitive, consciousness and emotions has given me much validation, clarification and thought to chew on. Loved it

The development of minds misconceptions

Ten plus hours to get to the idea and defend the actual idea that the book wants us to understand. All of this is worth it in the end. the idea of evolutionary development of emotion is as facinating as it is important to understand. The most important thing to take away from this book is that, in science, you must separate the things you believe from the things you find.