Drunk : how we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilization /
Slingerland, Edward, 1968-
Drunk : how we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilization / How we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilization Edward Slingerland. - First edition. - ix, 369 pages ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-349) and index.
Why do we get drunk? -- Leaving the door open for Dionysus -- Intoxication, ecstasy, and the origins of civilization -- Intoxication in the modern world -- The dark side of Dionysus.
Drunk cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication. From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies, blind cave fish, and problem-solving crows, Drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science, as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence--one that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.
0316453382 9780316453387
2020951436
GBC154624 bnb
020155916 Uk
Alcohol--Physiological effect--Popular works.
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--Social aspects.
GT2884 / .S56 2021
394.1/3 394.1/3
Drunk : how we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilization / How we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilization Edward Slingerland. - First edition. - ix, 369 pages ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-349) and index.
Why do we get drunk? -- Leaving the door open for Dionysus -- Intoxication, ecstasy, and the origins of civilization -- Intoxication in the modern world -- The dark side of Dionysus.
Drunk cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication. From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies, blind cave fish, and problem-solving crows, Drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science, as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence--one that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.
0316453382 9780316453387
2020951436
GBC154624 bnb
020155916 Uk
Alcohol--Physiological effect--Popular works.
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--Social aspects.
GT2884 / .S56 2021
394.1/3 394.1/3