Joseph Henrich proposes that human dominance over other species lies not in individual intelligence, but in our collective brains’ ability to interconnect, learn from one another across generations, and accumulate cultural innovations. Henrich demonstrates how our early capacities for social learning drove genetic evolution, altering our physiology and enabling cultural innovations like fire, tools, and language. These collective brains then generated powerful concepts and institutions, shaping our motivations and perceptions. The book explores how culture-gene interactions launched humanity’s extraordinary evolutionary trajectory, explaining our success and uniqueness through our collective intelligence.
