The Evolution of Mind - Hardcover

 
9780195110531: The Evolution of Mind
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0195110536 ISBN 13: 9780195110531
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Our understanding of the human mind has radically changed in recent years--from the unified mind once envisioned by René Descartes over three hundred years ago to a new understanding of mind as a set of specialized cognitive components gradually accumulated in our evolutionary past. As a result, many scientists and philosophers now believe that our minds emerged out of the same type of evolutionary processes that have shaped our bodies.
In The Evolution of Mind, outstanding figures on the cutting edge of evolutionary psychology follow clues provided by current neuroscientific evidence to illuminate many puzzling questions of human cognitive evolution. With contributions from psychologists, ethologists, anthropologists, and philosophers, the book offers a broad range of approaches to explore the mysteries of the minds evolution--from investigating the biological functions of human cognition to drawing comparisons between human and animal cognitive abilities. This interdisciplinary work presents a comparative and evolutionary perspective on a wide variety of topics, including mental algorithms for reasoning about contingencies, quantities, social norms, and the minds of others; social play and communicative abilities; thought and language, and the role of Darwin's theory of natural selection in evolutionary psychology. Written in a highly readable style, The Evolution of Mind will appeal to a broad range of researchers and students and help set the agenda for the field for years to come.

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About the Author

Denise Dellarosa Cummins is Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.  She is the author of Good Thinking: Seven Powerful Ideas That Influence The Way We Think and The Other Side of Psychology. She also co-edited Minds, Brains, & Computers: An Historical Introduction to the Foundations of Cognitive Science.  Her research interests include reasoning and decision-making from evolutionary, comparative, and developmental perspectives.

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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication date
1998
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0195110536
ISBN 13 
9780195110531
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
272
Editor
Denise Dellarosa Cummins, Colin Allen