Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds
duben 2011 · Princeton University Press
4,3star
3 recenze
E‑kniha
288
Stránky
family_home
Vhodná
info
Podrobnosti o e‑knize
A new approach to understanding animal and human cognition
When a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations--that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment—not just their brains—to behave intelligently.
Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds. Considering when it is worth having a big brain—or indeed having a brain at all—she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments.
Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.
When a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations--that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment—not just their brains—to behave intelligently.
Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds. Considering when it is worth having a big brain—or indeed having a brain at all—she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments.
Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.
Hodnocení a recenze
4,3
3 recenze
O autorovi
Louise Barrett is Professor of Psychology and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Lethbridge. She is the author of Baboons and the coauthor of Cousins, Walking with Cavemen, Human Evolutionary Psychology, and Evolutionary Psychology.
Ohodnotit e‑knihu
Sdělte nám, co si myslíte.
Informace o čtení
Telefony a tablety
Nainstalujte si aplikaci Knihy Google Play pro Android a iPad/iPhone. Aplikace se automaticky synchronizuje s vaším účtem a umožní vám číst v režimu online nebo offline, ať jste kdekoliv.
Notebooky a počítače
Audioknihy zakoupené na Google Play můžete poslouchat pomocí webového prohlížeče v počítači.
Čtečky a další zařízení
Pokud chcete číst knihy ve čtečkách elektronických knih, jako např. Kobo, je třeba soubor stáhnout a přenést do zařízení. Při přenášení souborů do podporovaných čteček elektronických knih postupujte podle podrobných pokynů v centru nápovědy.
