Landscape of the Mind PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Landscape of the Mind PDF full book. Access full book title Landscape of the Mind by John F. Hoffecker. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: John F. Hoffecker
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023151848X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Get Book Here
Book Description
In Landscape of the Mind, John F. Hoffecker explores the origin and growth of the human mind, drawing on archaeology, history, and the fossil record. He suggests that, as an indirect result of bipedal locomotion, early humans developed a feedback relationship among their hands, brains, and tools that evolved into the capacity to externalize thoughts in the form of shaped stone objects. When anatomically modern humans evolved a parallel capacity to externalize thoughts as symbolic language, individual brains within social groups became integrated into a "neocortical Internet," or super-brain, giving birth to the mind. Noting that archaeological traces of symbolism coincide with evidence of the ability to generate novel technology, Hoffecker contends that human creativity, as well as higher order consciousness, is a product of the superbrain. He equates the subsequent growth of the mind with human history, which began in Africa more than 50,000 years ago. As anatomically modern humans spread across the globe, adapting to a variety of climates and habitats, they redesigned themselves technologically and created alternative realities through tools, language, and art. Hoffecker connects the rise of civilization to a hierarchical reorganization of the super-brain, triggered by explosive population growth. Subsequent human history reflects to varying degrees the suppression of the mind's creative powers by the rigid hierarchies of nationstates and empires, constraining the further accumulation of knowledge. The modern world emerged after 1200 from the fragments of the Roman Empire, whose collapse had eliminated a central authority that could thwart innovation. Hoffecker concludes with speculation about the possibility of artificial intelligence and the consequences of a mind liberated from its organic antecedents to exist in an independent, nonbiological form.
Author: John F. Hoffecker
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023151848X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Get Book Here
Book Description
In Landscape of the Mind, John F. Hoffecker explores the origin and growth of the human mind, drawing on archaeology, history, and the fossil record. He suggests that, as an indirect result of bipedal locomotion, early humans developed a feedback relationship among their hands, brains, and tools that evolved into the capacity to externalize thoughts in the form of shaped stone objects. When anatomically modern humans evolved a parallel capacity to externalize thoughts as symbolic language, individual brains within social groups became integrated into a "neocortical Internet," or super-brain, giving birth to the mind. Noting that archaeological traces of symbolism coincide with evidence of the ability to generate novel technology, Hoffecker contends that human creativity, as well as higher order consciousness, is a product of the superbrain. He equates the subsequent growth of the mind with human history, which began in Africa more than 50,000 years ago. As anatomically modern humans spread across the globe, adapting to a variety of climates and habitats, they redesigned themselves technologically and created alternative realities through tools, language, and art. Hoffecker connects the rise of civilization to a hierarchical reorganization of the super-brain, triggered by explosive population growth. Subsequent human history reflects to varying degrees the suppression of the mind's creative powers by the rigid hierarchies of nationstates and empires, constraining the further accumulation of knowledge. The modern world emerged after 1200 from the fragments of the Roman Empire, whose collapse had eliminated a central authority that could thwart innovation. Hoffecker concludes with speculation about the possibility of artificial intelligence and the consequences of a mind liberated from its organic antecedents to exist in an independent, nonbiological form.
Author: Carl Chiarenza
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781888803419
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Fiona Coward
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131621396X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 443
Get Book Here
Book Description
This volume provides a landscape narrative of early hominin evolution, linking conventional material and geographic aspects of the early archaeological record with wider and more elusive social, cognitive and symbolic landscapes. It seeks to move beyond a limiting notion of early hominin culture and behaviour as dictated solely by the environment to present the early hominin world as the outcome of a dynamic dialogue between the physical environment and its perception and habitation by active agents. This international group of contributors presents theoretically informed yet empirically based perspectives on hominin and human landscapes.
Author: Stephen S. Clark
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1524519162
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 492
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book is based on the premise that humankind is, first and foremost, the outcome of the process of biological evolution. Recognition of this is fundamental to our understanding of who we are and how we behave. All living things have evolved the physical and mental attributes that promote their prospects for survival; they are good at doing the things that enable them to pass on their genes to succeeding generations, and we are no exception. Of course, through the development of culture, we have gained some freedom from our biological origins. Nevertheless, evolution has constructed the foundation upon which culture is built. The first part of the book, Ourselves Interacting with the World, presents an overview of the main capabilities that evolution has endowed us with and that enable us to interact with the environment in advantageous ways. This includes our senses, which act as windows on the world and also, of great importance, our emotions and ability to remember. Our ability to think is perhaps the crowning achievement of our evolutionary journey, and, of course, we must be able to act in a timely and effective manner. The second part of the book, Living Together, traces the history of how we became social creatures. To be truly human, we had to be capable of sharing and cooperation. We also needed to be able to control our aggressiveness and talent for deception. We settled down, making the transition from hunter-gatherers to urban dwellers, and agreed upon values and norms of behavior that enhanced our ability to get along. Ultimately, we came to see good and bad as a morality of right and wrong, further augmenting group cohesiveness. In the final part of the book, Challenges and Opportunities, attention turns to a consideration of the constraints and possibilities that must be considered in looking to the future. These realities can be seen to play out in four social arenas: the pursuit of fairness, the seeking of justice, the interplay of political beliefs and good government, and ultimately, a united society that is, at the same time, a true community. Our quest for these things will be greatly aided by a deep knowledge and appreciation of our evolutionary past and the indelible imprint it has left upon us. It may even lead us to that most elusive of all things, happiness.
Author: Merlin Donald
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393323191
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 396
Get Book Here
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.
Author: Eric Meyers
Publisher: Astrology Sight
ISBN: 9780974776644
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Get Book Here
Book Description
Elements & Evolution: The Spiritual Landscape of Astrology. This groundbreaking, innovative book explores how the 4 elements structure and catalyze spiritual evolution from a number of angles. It explores Cyclical Evolution (the great cycle through the zodiac), and Progressive Evolution (the development of consciousness), and offers commentary on the evolutionary purpose of every facet of astrology. This is not a book about chart interpretation, rather, it aims to reveal the underlying workings of astrology itself. The thought-provoking information may inform anyone s approach to charts by adding layers of nuance, clarifying how the various aspects relate to soul growth, and understanding the relationship of astrology and consciousness. It is already being considered a major contribution by many leaders in the field. Contributions include a new classification of the elements: Water & Fire are discussed as being charged, and Earth & Air are neutral. Progressive evolution discusses how our soul growth occurs at 4 Elemental Levels the physical (Earth), emotional (Water), mental (Air), and soul (Fire). In great detail, this book clarifies the process of spiritual awakening as seen through astrology and the 4 Elements which compose its spiritual landscape.
Author: Erik Svensson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199595372
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Get Book Here
Book Description
The 'Adaptive Landscape' has been a central concept in population genetics and evolutionary biology since this powerful metaphor was first formulated in 1932. This volume brings together historians of science, philosophers, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists, to discuss the state of the art from several different perspectives.
Author: Lawrence L. LeShan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780979998980
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 213
Get Book Here
Book Description
What Linneaus did for biology, LeShan does for human consciousness and behavior - provide a classification system for aspects and states of consciousness. This framework contains both the objective and subjective aspects of life and shows that they can be intelligibly connected.
Author: Darcia Narváez
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199964254
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 386
Get Book Here
Book Description
The social contexts in which children develop have transformed over recent decades, but also over millennia. Modern parenting practices have diverged greatly from ancestral practices, which included natural childbirth, extensive and on-demand breastfeeding, constant touch, responsiveness to the needs of the child, free play in nature with multiple-aged playmates, and multiple adult caregivers. Only recently have scientists begun to document the outcomes for the presence or absence of such parenting practices, but early results indicate that psychological wellbeing is impacted by these factors. Ancestral Landscapes in Human Evolution addresses how a shift in the way we parent can influence child outcomes. It examines evolved contexts for mammalian development, optimal and suboptimal contexts for human evolved needs, and the effects on children's development and human wellbeing. Bringing together an interdisciplinary set of renowned contributors, this volume examines how different parenting styles and cultural personality influence one another. Chapters discuss the nature of childrearing, social relationships, the range of personalities people exhibit, the social and moral skills expected of adults, and what 'wellbeing' looks like. As a solid knowledge base regarding normal development is considered integral to understanding psychopathology, this volume also focuses on the effects of early childhood maltreatment. By increasing our understanding of basic mammalian emotional and motivational needs in contexts representative of our ancestral conditions, we may be in a better position to facilitate changes in social structures and systems that better support optimal human development. This book will be a unique resource for researchers and students in psychology, anthropology, and psychiatry, as well as professionals in public health, social work, clinical psychology, and early care and education.
Author: Chris Lucas
Publisher: Infinite Study
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 17
Get Book Here
Book Description
A deliberation upon the possibility of generating a comprehensive view of ‘mind as a whole’ by integrating biology, psychology and sociology, and considering ‘Mind’ as a dynamical interplay between values existing over many levels and scales of complex systems.
