William H. Calvin Oxford University Press, 2004 FROM THE PRESS RELEASE Millions of years stretch between our first primate ancestors and modern Homo sapiens. Where along this vast expanse of time did consciousness first appear? What were the evolutionary milestones that lead up to this pivotal event? And how will the mind evolve in the future? In A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MIND, William H. Calvin builds a dramatic yet thoughtful and very personal account of human evolution around the theme of climactic change in our emergence. He offers fascinating conjectures on how the brain might have expanded, what early humans might have hunted, and what was the relationship, if any, between a diet high in meat and brain size. He points out that while Homo sapiens brain size was comparable to our modern brain, for a hundred thousand years they could at best speak like children, in one- or two-word sentences. So brain size alone did not trigger the spectacular workings of the modern mind. Calvin looks at potential sparks for the mind's big bang and settles finally on the development of language as the most likely trigger, a development that blossomed only 50,000 years ago. Filled with wonderful insight into how the mind works, how its workings changed over time, and how it might evolve in the future, this intriguing volume will engage anyone interested in the nature of the human mind. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William H. Calvin is a neurobiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has written a dozen books including A Brain for All Seasons, which won the Phi Beta Kappa 2002 Book Award for contributions to literature by scientists. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface xiii Some Stage-setting Perspective xix 1. When Chimpanzees Think 3 The way we were, 7 million years ago? 2. Upright Posture but Ape-sized Brains 15 In the woodland between forest and savanna 3. Triple Startups about 2.5 Million Years Ago 23 Flickering climate, toolmaking and bigger brains 4. Homo erectus Ate Well 33 Adding more meat to the diet fueled the first Out of Africa 5. The Second Brain Boom 45 What kicked in, about 750,000 years ago? 6. Neanderthals and Our Pre-sapiens Ancestors 53 Two-stage toolmaking and what it says about thought 7. Homo sapiens without the Modern Mind 61 The big brain but not much to show for it 8. Structured Thought Finally Appears 83 The curb-cut principle and emerging higher intellectual function 9. From Africa to Everywhere 107 Was the still-full-of-bugs prototype what spread around the world? 10. How Creativity Manages the Mixups 127 Higher intellectual function and the search for coherence 11. Civilizing Ourselves 139 From planting to writing to mind medicine 12. What's Sudden About the Mind's Big Bang? 151 The moderns somehow got their act together 13. Imagining the House of Cards 161 Inventing new levels of organization on the fly 14. The Future of the Augmented Mind 171 A combustible mixture of ignorance and power? Afterword 191 Recommended Reading 193 Notes 197 Index 207 ***************************************************** ISBN: 0195159071 (hardcover) $26.00 USD WHERE TO ORDER: Oxford University Press 2001 Evans Road Cary, NC 27513 Phone: (800) 451-7556 Email: orders@oup-usa.org More info: www.oup.com/us Direct link to item in Oxford University Press online catalog: http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/LifeSciences/Neurobiology/?view=usa&ci=0195159071 Posted Date: 3/22/04
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