The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul

The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul PDF Author: Simona Ginsburg
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262039303
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 665

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Book Description
A new theory about the origins of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the evolutionary transition to basic consciousness. What marked the evolutionary transition from organisms that lacked consciousness to those with consciousness—to minimal subjective experiencing, or, as Aristotle described it, “the sensitive soul”? In this book, Simona Ginsburg and Eva Jablonka propose a new theory about the origin of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the transition to basic consciousness. Using a methodology similar to that used by scientists when they identified the transition from non-life to life, Ginsburg and Jablonka suggest a set of criteria, identify a marker for the transition to minimal consciousness, and explore the far-reaching biological, psychological, and philosophical implications. After presenting the historical, neurobiological, and philosophical foundations of their analysis, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose that the evolutionary marker of basic or minimal consciousness is a complex form of associative learning, which they term unlimited associative learning (UAL). UAL enables an organism to ascribe motivational value to a novel, compound, non-reflex-inducing stimulus or action, and use it as the basis for future learning. Associative learning, Ginsburg and Jablonka argue, drove the Cambrian explosion and its massive diversification of organisms. Finally, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose symbolic language as a similar type of marker for the evolutionary transition to human rationality—to Aristotle's “rational soul.”

The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul

The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul PDF Author: Simona Ginsburg
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262039303
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 665

Get Book Here

Book Description
A new theory about the origins of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the evolutionary transition to basic consciousness. What marked the evolutionary transition from organisms that lacked consciousness to those with consciousness—to minimal subjective experiencing, or, as Aristotle described it, “the sensitive soul”? In this book, Simona Ginsburg and Eva Jablonka propose a new theory about the origin of consciousness that finds learning to be the driving force in the transition to basic consciousness. Using a methodology similar to that used by scientists when they identified the transition from non-life to life, Ginsburg and Jablonka suggest a set of criteria, identify a marker for the transition to minimal consciousness, and explore the far-reaching biological, psychological, and philosophical implications. After presenting the historical, neurobiological, and philosophical foundations of their analysis, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose that the evolutionary marker of basic or minimal consciousness is a complex form of associative learning, which they term unlimited associative learning (UAL). UAL enables an organism to ascribe motivational value to a novel, compound, non-reflex-inducing stimulus or action, and use it as the basis for future learning. Associative learning, Ginsburg and Jablonka argue, drove the Cambrian explosion and its massive diversification of organisms. Finally, Ginsburg and Jablonka propose symbolic language as a similar type of marker for the evolutionary transition to human rationality—to Aristotle's “rational soul.”

Future Consciousness

Future Consciousness PDF Author: Thomas Lombardo
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1782790705
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 796

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Book Description
How do our unique conscious minds reflect and amplify nature’s vast evolutionary process? This book provides a scientifically informed, psychologically holistic approach to understanding and enhancing our future consciousness, serving as a guide for creating a realistic, constructive, and ethical future. Thomas Lombardo reveals how we can flourish in the flow of evolution and create a prosperous future for ourselves, human society and the planet.

Cosmic Consciousness

Cosmic Consciousness PDF Author: Richard Maurice Bucke
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Consciousness
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description


Conscious Evolution

Conscious Evolution PDF Author: Barbara Marx Hubbard
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 1608681181
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
A Seminal Work of Visionary Hope, Updated for the 21st Century In this era of government gridlock, economic and ecological devastation, and seemingly intractable global violence, our future is ever more ripe for — and in need of — fresh, creative reimagining. With her clear-eyed, inspiring, and sweeping vision of a possible global renaissance in the new millennium, Barbara Marx Hubbard shows us that our current crises are not the precursors of an apocalypse but the natural birth pains of an awakened, universal humanity. This is our finest hour. Conscious Evolution highlights the tremendous potential of newfound scientific knowledge, technological advances, and compassionate spirituality and illustrates the opportunities that each of us has to fully participate in this exciting stage of human history. As we do, we will bring forth all that is within us and not only save ourselves, but evolve our world.

The Evolution of Consciousness

The Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Euan M. Macphail
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198503255
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Accessible to psychology students, philosophy students and non-specialists, this book will appeal particularly to readers with an interest in consciousness in animals. It draws implications for the nature of mind from contemporary evidence.

Consciousness Evolving

Consciousness Evolving PDF Author: James H. Fetzer
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9789027251541
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
A collection of stimulating studies on the past, the present, and the future of consciousness, Consciousness Evolving contributes to understanding some of the most important conceptual problems of our time. The advent of the modern synthesis together with the human genome project affords a platform for considering what it is that makes humans distinctive. Beginning with an essay that accents the nature of the problem within a behavioristic framework and concluding with reflections on the prospects for a form of immortality through serial cloning, the chapters are divided into three sections, which concern how and why consciousness may have evolved, special capacities involving language, creativity, and mentality as candidates for evolved adaptations, and the prospects for artificial evolution though the design of robots with specific forms of consciousness and mind. This volume should appeal to every reader who wants to better understand the human species, including its distinctive properties and its place in nature. (Series A)

Cognitive Evolution

Cognitive Evolution PDF Author: David B. Boles
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042965071X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Cognitive Evolution provides an in-depth exploration of the history and development of cognition, from the beginning of life on Earth to present-day humans. Drawing together evolutionary and comparative research, this book presents a unique perspective on the evolution of human cognition. Adopting an information processing perspective – that is, from inputs to outputs, with all the mental processes in between, Boles provides a systematic overview of the evolutionary development of cognition and of its sensation, movement, and perception components. The book is supported by long-established evolutionary theories and backed up by a wealth of recent research from the growing field of cognitive evolution and cognitive neuroscience to provide a comprehensive text on the subject. Cognitive Evolution is an essential read for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students of cognitive and evolutionary psychology.

Life Ascending

Life Ascending PDF Author: Nick Lane
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847652220
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Winner of the 2010 Royal Society Prize for science books Powerful new research methods are providing fresh and vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining the atomic structure of proteins and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have all helped to explain creation and evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane uses the full extent of this new knowledge to describe the ten greatest inventions of life, based on their historical impact, role in living organisms today and relevance to current controversies. DNA, sex, sight and consciousnesses are just four examples. Lane also explains how these findings have come about, and the extent to which they can be relied upon. The result is a gripping and lucid account of the ingenuity of nature, and a book which is essential reading for anyone who has ever questioned the science behind the glories of everyday life.

The Evolution of Consciousness

The Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855843153
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
According to the initiate-research of Rudolf Steiner, humanity is in a continual process of transformation and evolution. Modern-day consciousness, based as it is on sense perception and abstract logic, differs considerably from the consciousness of ancient humanity. At that time, says Steiner, the human being was seen to be a microcosm, a concentration of the laws and activities of the cosmos. The loss of such knowledge today has led to the existential quest for meaning, and even the cul-de-sac of atheism.In these comprehensive lectures, delivered to an English audience, Rudolf Steiner indicates how it is possible for people to rediscover their connection to the cosmos. He describes how one develops higher faculties of consciousness - what he calls Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition - and gives a vivid description of life after death and the individual's progress through the planetary spheres. It is in these spheres, he explains, where tasks and goals for future incarnations are prepared in cooperation with the spiritual beings of the heavenly hierarchies.The lectures culminate in a call for mankind to take its own destiny in hand through conscious and free development of spiritual capacities.The edition of this fundamental work features a revised translation as well as previously-unavailable addresses and question-and-answer sessions.

A Mind So Rare

A Mind So Rare PDF Author: Merlin Donald
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393323191
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
Donald (psychology, Queen's University, Canada) challenges the prevailing view that seeks to explain away human consciousness and presents a theory on the origins of the modern mind. He describes the cultural and neuronal forces that power human modes of awareness, and proposes that the human mind is a hybrid product of the interweaving of the brain with an invisible symbolic web of culture to form a "distributed" cognitive network. Using evidence from brain and behavioral studies of humans and animals, he explains how an expansion of consciousness transcends the limitations of the mammalian mind, and elaborates the foundations of self-evaluation and self-reflection. c. Book News Inc.