Tomasello, Michael, (2019) Becoming Human: Theory of Ontogeny (2019) Cambridge Press: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 379 pages.

Social neurosciences reach goes in many directions and is applied here in this classic by Tomasello on human development theory. Cacioppo and Bentson (1992) are considered the founders. Pinker’s The Blank Slate (2002) nationally spread the ideas and recently Hibbing (2018) and his research group have researched and published in both numerous academic journals and popular culture such as NPR, Rolling Stone, andhundreds of others.

Although this book is written for a number of academic specialists, this review will be written in more common parlance for academics that are in related areas as well as others.  Ontogeny means tracking social neuroscience (social, psychological, and neural- biological, underlying biology with social processes) of an individual from birth to about 7 years old. This age is about when most cultures and their history, define a person with the term “age of reason.” Through experiments and observation, the author describes how both nature and nurture become entwined in humans.  So, the word impacts cerebral cortex flesh and it’s reverse. Thus, folks are not necessarily “shaped “(environmental determinism) nor seen as acting a certain “instinctual” way because of some innate push (natural determinism.)

He also shows how humans become strikingly different and unique from other hominids (chimpanzees, bonobos, great apes and related.) By roughly 400,000 years, humans had face-to-face collaboration and by 100,000 years or so, culture. This is not utopian. Humans learn to think of themselves, show or try not to show their values and possible actions to others, and this rough mass collectivity becomes a group that takes each other into account.

It can be rough if one dominates or takes too much unless s/he is powerful enough. However, most get something of whatever is hunted and/ or gathered. Some are thrown out of the group for non-conformance. Most work together and collaborate. Thus biology & culture merge. Usually culture of this individual becomes a socio-biological whole greater than the sum of the parts. However, there is this biological connection felt by most. As population increases, various groups divide into kin and tribes. Finally, cultures and subcultures exist. War or peace can occur.

On the individual level, by 9 months babies by joint intentionality (deliberateness) of care giving adults can take another baby or others into account. By 3 years the individual can begin collaboration and communication.  At or around 7, humans become qualitatively different than chimpanzee, bonobos, and fellow travelers.

The author describes 8 ontogenic pathways to adulthood, and is described in the majority of the book. They are: social cognition, communication, and culture learning. Further,   cooperative thinking, collaboration, and prosociality are featured.  Finally, social norms and moral identity complete the list. A chapter is given over to each interrelated topic.

This work appears to be to this reviewer the hub of a wheel of hybrids of thought. It is that excellent. It is full blown synergism that generates even more areas of research.

Tomasello must be considered a real talent. Perhaps, he may find time for a book that approximates childhood development in and among the roughly 80% of the planet that have authoritarian countries.  Is there variance from this established model?

Lastly, this author may want to collaborate with specialists in other behavioral fields such as psychology , sociology, political sciences, economics, and social geography. They are indirectly discussed why not a chapter on each?

So, all the above follow when a classic like this emerges. Tomasello denotes and connotes a sense of academic excellence in his wing of social neuroscience. His work will be cited by others for decades to come.

Joel Charles Snell

Professor Emeritus

Sociology/social neuroscience

Kirkwood College

3105 Alleghany Dr. NE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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319-366-0063

joelsnell@hotmail.com/