How Homo Became Sapiens: On the Evolution of Thinking

by Peter Gïrdenfors

Overview

Our ability to 'think' is really one of our most puzzling characteristics. What it would be like to be unable to think? What would it be like to lack self-awareness? The complexity of this activity is striking. 'Thinking' involves the interaction of a range of mental processes—attention, emotion, memory, planning, self-consciousness, free will, and language. So where did these processes arise? What evolutionary advantages were bestowed upon those with an ability to deceive, to plan, to empathize, or to understand the intention of others? In this compelling new work, Peter Gardenfors embarks on an evolutionary detective story to try and solve one of the big mysteries surrounding human existence—how has the modern human being's way of thinking come into existence. He starts by taking in turn the more basic cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, then builds upon these to explore more complex behaviors, such as self-consciousness, mindreading, and imitation. Having done this, he examines the consequences of "putting thought into the world" -i.e., using external media like cave paintings, drawings, and writing. Immensely readable and humorous, the book will be valuable for students in psychology and biology, and accessible to readers of popular science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198528517
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/30/2006
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Lund University

Table of Contents

1. Thinking from an evolutionary perspective1.1. The human family tree1.2. Enter homo1.3. What is to be explained: the components of thought1.4. Four sources of empirical support1.5. Early stages in the evolution of thought1.6. Skinnerian beings2. Sensation, perception and imagination2.1. Sensations: being aware of the world2.2. The art of aiming - why chimpanzees cannot throw darts2.3. Perceptions: seeing the world2.4. Categorical perception: sorting the world into boxes2.5. Object permanence: the world outside our sensations2.6. The art of chasing a mouse2.7. Going between the senses2.8. Causal reasoning: finding the invisible threads2.9. A room with a view2.10. Imagination: detaching the senses3. The World Within3.1. Popperian beings3.2. Representations and the brain3.3. Pretense: playing in the inner world3.4. Directing thought: intentionality3.5. Imitation - why apes cannot ape3.6. Planning - why the squirrel does not plan for the winter3.7. Ockham's razor3.8. Thinking about tomorrow3.9. Making tools3.10. The human dilemma4. Reading other people's minds4.1. Levels of theory of mind4.2. Understanding emotions4.3. Understanding attention4.4. Understanding intentions4.5. Understanding what others know4.6. Deception4.7. Machiavellian intelligence4.8. Autism: when there are gaps in the inner world5. Self-consciousness5.1. What is self-consciousness? 5,2. Animals for themselves: Why baboons do not wear lipstick5.3. Communication, attention, and consciousness5.4. It's not rude to point5.5. You and I5.6. The mirror of the soul5.7. Free will5.8. Consciousness and morality - why vervets are incapactiated6. The dawn of language6.1. Signals and symbols6.2. ... and icons6.3. Linguistic communication and higher-order intentions6.4. Animals' linguistic capacity6.5. Kanzi - at the brink of language6.6. How children learn language6.7. Miming as intentional communication6.8. Keeping time - why chimps do not play in the circus orchestra7. The origin of speech7.1. Why just humans? 7.2. Consciousness and language7.3. The gossip theory7.4. Sharing visions for the future - co-operation begets language7.5. Language as a social marker7.6. Motherese7.7. Proto-language7.8. The role of grammar7.9. Myths and narratives7.10. Language in the brain7.11. Where are the meanings of words? 8. Externalising the inner world8.1. External memories8.2. The development of writing8.3. The influence of writing on thought8.4. Science: the world of theories8.5. Drifting thought - and the selfish meme8.6. Detached identity8.7. The open personEpilogue

Editorial Reviews

"Gärdenfors presents a wealth of thought-provoking information and discussion, with a well-argued viewpoint, in a clear style...The text is well referenced for follow-up, but easily accessible for a novice in the field."—JBE

From the Publisher