Buch, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 616 g
Evolution of the Generative Mind
Buch, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 616 g
ISBN: 978-0-19-508352-1
Verlag: Oxford University Press
This fascinating book addresses the question of what makes humans unique, of how sharply we differ from other animals. It begins with evidence on the split of the hominids from the apes, and on the main steps in hominid evolution since then. Its main theme is that the distinctive versatility of human thought and mental representation depends on special properties of the left side of the brain. One manifestation of this lop-sidedness is the predominance of right-handedness in human populations, a tract that does not seem to exist in animals. Another is the special properties of human language, which is represented in the left cerebral hemisphere.
At a deeper level, Corballis argues that the human left hemisphere has evolved a specialization for an open-ended, generative form of mental representation. This underlies language and also the way in which we construct, represent, and understand objects. It probably colours many other specifically human activities, such as complementary mode of thought that has more holistic, analogue properties, and that goes back much further in evolution.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
- Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Historische & Vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie
- Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Biologische Psychologie, Neuropsychologie
- Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Neurobiologie, Verhaltensbiologie
- Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Kognitionspsychologie
- Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Neurowissenschaften, Kognitionswissenschaft
Weitere Infos & Material
Are humans unique?; Human evolution; The human condition; Human handedness; Human language; The evolution of language; Language and the brain; Praxis and the left brain; The magic carpet; The duality of the brain; The plastic brain; Conclusions.
