Week 2: How have our biological and historical origins shaped us?

Are we just a passive product of our past or are we masters of our destiny?  This topic explores our origins from a small vulnerable group of naked apes to a species that now dominates the planet.  It explores likely environmental forces that may have contributed to our genetic evolution and biological and innate behavioural propensities.  It balances that with social and cultural histories that may have nurtured and contributed to our current world views and behaviours.