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A mind so rare : the evolution of human consciousness
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A mind so rare : the evolution of human consciousness

Author: Merlin Donald
Publisher: New York : Norton, ©2001.
Edition/Format:   Book : English : 1st edView all editions and formats
Summary:
Merlin Donald refutes the arguments of certain scientists and philosophers who have dismissed consciousness as a superficial byproduct of evolution, or even an entirely irrelevant factor in human cognition. His thesis presents the forces, both cultural and neuronal, that power our distinctively human modes of awareness. Donald proposes that the human mind is a hybrid product of interweaving a super-complex form of  Read more...
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Details

Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Merlin Donald
ISBN: 0393049507 9780393049503
OCLC Number: 45376311
Description: xiv, 371 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Contents: 1. Consciousness in Evolution --
2. The Paradox of Consciousness --
3. The Governor of Mental Life --
4. The Consciousness Club --
5. Three Levels of Basic Awareness --
6. Condillac's Statue --
7. The First Hybrid Minds on Earth --
8. The Triumph of Consciousness.
Responsibility: Merlin Donald.

Abstract:

Merlin Donald refutes the arguments of certain scientists and philosophers who have dismissed consciousness as a superficial byproduct of evolution, or even an entirely irrelevant factor in human cognition. His thesis presents the forces, both cultural and neuronal, that power our distinctively human modes of awareness. Donald proposes that the human mind is a hybrid product of interweaving a super-complex form of matter (the brain) with an invisible symbolic web (culture) to form a "distributed" cognitive network. This hybrid mind allowed humanity as a species to break free of the limitations of the mammalian brain. Marshaling evidence from brain and behavioral studies of humans and animals, Donald explains how an expansion of conscious capacity was the key to this revolutionary development and insightfully projects how the human mind might adapt in the future, as we fall increasingly under the spell of symbolic technology.

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Counter-reformation of the blank slate

by vleighton (WorldCat user published 2007-01-05) Fair Permalink
This book was weird, but I couldn't figure out why until about page 220. I picked it up because of a rave review for it in Choice magazine. After I became offended by the text, I stuck with it, hoping to find out what in the world caused the rave review. I was hoping that it would improve, but was mostly...
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