Why Is the World So Beautiful?
Our Minds in Search of Nature's Rhymes
$59.94
- Hardcover
216 pages
- Release Date
10 November 2026
Summary
A fascinating inquiry into why beauty matters and how it has played an evolutionary role in our understanding of the world.
From a pioneering neuropsychologist and the winner of the Mind and Brain Prize.
Why do we love beauty? And why is the world so full of it? From rainbows and mountain landscapes to piano sonatas and Cezanne paintings, much of what we find beautiful seems to serve no practical purpose, despite our instinctive attraction to it. In this path-breaking book, ps…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262056588 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0262056585 |
| Author: | Nicholas Humphrey |
| Publisher: | MIT Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | MIT Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 216 |
| Release Date: | 10 November 2026 |
| Weight: | 567g |
| Dimensions: | 133mm x 203mm |
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Critics Review
ENDORSEMENTS
“Nicholas Humphrey has made major contributions to our understanding of topics that range across psychology, evolutionary theory, consciousness, and theory of mind. Now we can add Why Is the World So Beautiful? He tackles a topic that has been central to philosophizing since Plato but has never before been subjected to this particular intense combination of rigorous empirical examination and sharp philosophical analysis. A splendid book: provocative, passionate, and to a remarkable degree persuasive.”
—Sir Geoffrey Lloyd, Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge
“Humphrey’s skills as an expositor on the science/philosophy interface shine through here. He doesn’t definitively answer the question in the title—nobody could! But he offers insights that will deepen any reader’s understanding of the issues.”
—Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal; Member of the UK’s House of Lords; former President of the Royal Society
“In answer to the question ‘What is the essence of beauty?’ Humphrey offers a bold and compelling answer: our aesthetic instincts are shaped by an innate sensitivity to rhyme—not just in poetry, but in the echoes, patterns, and symmetries that pervade the visual, auditory, and even conceptual realms. This is an illuminating and deeply thought-provoking exploration—one that will reshape how we understand aesthetics, evolution, and the very nature of human experience.”
—Paul Broks, neuropsychologist; author of The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars
“Nicholas Humphrey’s enquiry into the nature of beauty is full of fresh insights. His emphasis on rhyme has primed me to look at flowers and trees anew and hear Bach’s music better. I am grateful for this sparklingly original book.”
—Rupert Sheldrake, biologist; author of Science Set Free
Nicholas Humphrey
Nicholas Humphrey is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the London School of Economics and a theoretical psychologist based in Cambridge. His research focuses on the evolution of intelligence and consciousness.
Humphrey was the first to demonstrate the existence of “blindsight” in monkeys. He also studied mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey in Rwanda, proposed the celebrated theory of the “social function of intellect,” and investigated the evolutionary background of religion, art, healing, death awareness, and suicide.
In 2026, Humphrey was awarded the Dennett Prize by the International Center for Consciousness Studies. His additional honors include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, the Pufendorf Medal, and the International Mind and Brain Prize.
His most recent book is Sentience, published by MIT Press.
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