Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition

by Merlin Donald

Overview

This bold and brilliant book asks the ultimate question of the life sciences: How did the human mind acquire its incomparable power? In seeking the answer, Merlin Donald traces the evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to artificial intelligence, presenting an enterprising and original theory of how the human mind evolved from its presymbolic form.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674253704
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/15/1993
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	424
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Merlin Donald is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Prologue

PART 1: The Need for a Theory of Cognitive Evolution

Mental Architecture as an Emergent Phenomenon

Culture as Evidence for Cognitive Structure

The Organization of This Book


PART 2:

What People are Saying About This

A radically different evolutionary framework for the understanding of mind and behavior: I don't know when I have enjoyed reading a book more, or when I have learned so much from one.

Hans Moravec

A wonderful book that deserves to be read by everyone interested in the human mind. It weaves together the best available evidence into a convincing theory of cognition, culture, consciousness, and communication--their structure, evolution, meaning, and future.
— Carnegie Mellon University

Sheldon White

A radically different evolutionary framework for the understanding of mind and behavior: I don't know when I have enjoyed reading a book more, or when I have learned so much from one.
— Sheldon White, Harvard University

Editorial Reviews

This is the first major study in English of the Korean minority in Japan. It traces the origins of the Korean community, the colonial context of Korean immigration, the living and working conditions of the Koreans, and their persecution after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The book constitutes an economic and social history of Japan during the period of its transformation from an isolated state into a modern imperial power. In seeking answer to the question of how the human mind acquired its incomparable power, Donald (psychology, Queen's U., Kingston, Ontario) traces the evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to the era of artificial intelligence, and presents an original theory of how the human mind evolved from its presymbolic form. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Origins of the Modern Mind is an admirable book… Its author displays throughout an engaging enthusiasm, a fertile imagination and an impressive knowledge of his subject-matter.

Times Literary Supplement - Christopher Longuet-Higgins

A radically different evolutionary framework for the understanding of mind and behavior: I don’t know when I have enjoyed reading a book more, or when I have learned so much from one.

Sheldon White

A wonderful book that deserves to be read by everyone interested in the human mind. It weaves together the best available evidence into a convincing theory of cognition, culture, consciousness, and communication—their structure, evolution, meaning, and future.

Hans Moravec

Nowadays one hears…that hand-held calculators destroy young people’s motivation to learn arithmetic. But not to worry, says Merlin Donald, author of this revelatory but demanding history of human consciousness. He welcomes the computer, as well as other forms of electronic storage and manipulation of data and images, including TV, as the highest stage of mental development—and perhaps the final one.

Los Angeles Times - John Wilkes

Origins of the Modern Mind is an admirable book... Its author displays throughout an engaging enthusiasm, a fertile imagination and an impressive knowledge of his subject-matter.--Christopher Longuet-Higgins "Times Literary Supplement"

A fine, provocative and absorbing account of what makes humans human.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Nowadays one hears...that hand-held calculators destroy young people's motivation to learn arithmetic. But not to worry, says Merlin Donald, author of this revelatory but demanding history of human consciousness. He welcomes the computer, as well as other forms of electronic storage and manipulation of data and images, including TV, as the highest stage of mental development--and perhaps the final one.--John Wilkes "Los Angeles Times"

A wonderful book that deserves to be read by everyone interested in the human mind. It weaves together the best available evidence into a convincing theory of cognition, culture, consciousness, and communication--their structure, evolution, meaning, and future.--Hans Moravec, Carnegie Mellon University

A radically different evolutionary framework for the understanding of mind and behavior: I don't know when I have enjoyed reading a book more, or when I have learned so much from one.--Sheldon White, Harvard University

From the Publisher

Nowadays one hears...that hand-held calculators destroy young people's motivation to learn arithmetic. But not to worry, says Merlin Donald, author of this revelatory but demanding history of human consciousness. He welcomes the computer, as well as other forms of electronic storage and manipulation of data and images, including TV, as the highest stage of mental development—and perhaps the final one.
— John Wilkes

Los Angeles Times

Origins of the Modern Mind is an admirable book...Its author displays throughout an engaging enthusiasm, a fertile imagination and an impressive knowledge of his subject-matter.
— Christopher Longuet-Higgins

Times Literary Supplement