The Shape of Thought

Informationen zum Autor H. Clark Barrett is an evolutionary anthropologist who studies the evolution of cognition. For the past fifteen years he has conducted field work in the Amazon region of Ecuador, and uses experimental cognitive tasks across cultures to test hypotheses about the evolution of the mind. He is now Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Klappentext The Shape of Thought: How Mental Adaptations Evolve presents a road map for an evolutionary psychology of the twenty-first century. It shows how the brain can be both a complexly specialized organ and a dynamic and flexible self-organizing system, shaped by learning and culture. Zusammenfassung The Shape of Thought: How Mental Adaptations Evolve presents a road map for an evolutionary psychology of the twenty-first century. It shows how the brain can be both a complexly specialized organ and a dynamic and flexible self-organizing system, shaped by learning and culture. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments; Introduction: The problem; Part 1. Evolution; 1 - Additivism; 2 - Hill-climbing; Part 2. Information; 3 - Adding value; 4 - Social ontology; 5 - Minds; Part 3. Development; 6 - Development; 7 - Open ends; Part 4. Culture; 8 - Moving targets; 9 - Culture; 10 - Accumulation; Part 5. Architecture; 11 - Parts; 12 - Wholes; 13 - Us; Conclusion: Possibilities ; References; Index

Clark Barrett takes the reader from the basics of evolutionary psychology to exciting stuff at the cutting-edge of today's research. He does so with splendid clarity, illuminating examples, and an engaging balance of wisdom and passion. An important book and an excellent read!

Auteur
H. Clark Barrett is an evolutionary anthropologist who studies the evolution of cognition. For the past fifteen years he has conducted field work in the Amazon region of Ecuador, and uses experimental cognitive tasks across cultures to test hypotheses about the evolution of the mind. He is now Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Texte du rabat

The Shape of Thought: How Mental Adaptations Evolve presents a road map for an evolutionary psychology of the twenty-first century. It shows how the brain can be both a complexly specialized organ and a dynamic and flexible self-organizing system, shaped by learning and culture.

Contenu

Acknowledgments; Introduction: The problem; Part 1. Evolution; 1 - Additivism; 2 - Hill-climbing; Part 2. Information; 3 - Adding value; 4 - Social ontology; 5 - Minds; Part 3. Development; 6 - Development; 7 - Open ends; Part 4. Culture; 8 - Moving targets; 9 - Culture; 10 - Accumulation; Part 5. Architecture; 11 - Parts; 12 - Wholes; 13 - Us; Conclusion: Possibilities ; References; Index