Man, Beast and Zombie : What Science Can and Cannot Tell Us About Human Nature - Softcover

Kenan Malik

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753812959 ISBN 13: 9780753812952

Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ), 2001

Synopsis

Are humans unique? Can animals think as we do? Will machines ever be conscious? What is free will? For centuries, attempts to answer these questions have been the stuff of theological and philosophical dispute, as well as bar-room debate. Now scientists claim they can solve these riddles of human existence, once and for all. Man, Beast and Zombie is a thrillingly original and accessible book. Huge in its reach and powerful in its grasp, it draws on cutting-edge sciences such as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology and Artificial Intelligence to assess what, precisely, they can and cannot explain about human nature. Kenan Malik explains the histories of these sciences and the philosophies that underpin them and analyses the complex relationship between human beings, animals and machines to explore what really makes us human.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Are humans unique? Can animals think as we do? Will machines ever have consciousness? What is free will? For centuries, attempts to answer these questions have been the stuff of both bar-room debates and intense theological and philosophical dispute. Now scientists claim they can solve these riddles of human existence once and for all. In so doing, they promise to upset many of the accepted ideas about morality and human nature.

Man, Beast, and Zombie is an original and accessible book. Vast in its scope, it draws on cutting-edge sciences such as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence to assess what, precisely, science can and cannot explain about human nature. Kenan Malik explains the histories of these sciences (and the philosophies that underpin them) and analyzes the complex relationship between human beings, animals, and machines to explore what really makes us human.

Malik demonstrates that much current thinking about human nature is flawed: how there is more than one way to design a mind; why the lifestyles of contemporary hunter-gatherers do not illuminate the lives of our prehistoric ancestors; and what intelligent machines really reveal about human consciousness. He shows, too, how the scientific debate about human nature is as influenced by politics as by science.

Man, Beast, and Zombie is both a defense of scientific reason and a challenge to some of today's most cherished scientific theories. It deftly interweaves philosophy, science, and history to answer the most fundamental question of all: what is a human being?

About the Author

Kenan Malik trained as a neurobiologist and was a research psychologist at the Centre for Research into Perception and Cognition at Sussex University. He is now a writer and lecturer. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Independentand the Financial Times. He is the author of the acclaimed study of racism, history and science, The Meaning of Race.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0753812959
• ISBN 13: 9780753812952
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480