The Evolution Of Reason

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The Evolution of Reason

Author : William S. Cooper
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521540254
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Reason by : William S. Cooper

Download or read book The Evolution of Reason written by William S. Cooper and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The formal systems of logic have ordinarily been regarded as independent of biology, but recent developments in evolutionary theory suggest that biology and logic may be intimately interrelated. In this book, William Cooper outlines a theory of rationality in which logical law emerges as an intrinsic aspect of evolutionary biology. This biological perspective on logic, though at present unorthodox, could change traditional ideas about the reasoning process. Cooper examines the connections between logic and evolutionary biology and illustrates how logical rules are derived directly from evolutionary principles, and therefore have no independent status of their own. Laws of decision theory, utility theory, induction, and deduction are reinterpreted as natural consequences of evolutionary processes. Cooper's connection of logical law to evolutionary theory ultimately results in a unified foundation for an evolutionary science of reason. It will be of interest to professionals and students of philosophy of science, logic, evolutionary theory, and cognitive science.

The Roots of Reason

Author : David Papineau
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199288712
Total Pages : 253 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (992 download)

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Book Synopsis The Roots of Reason by : David Papineau

Download or read book The Roots of Reason written by David Papineau and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-01-26 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Papineau presents a controversial view of human reason, portraying it as a normal part of the natural world, and drawing on the empirical sciences to illuminate its workings. In these six interconnected essays he offers a fresh approach to some long-standing problems.Papineau rejects the contemporary orthodoxy that genuine thought hinges on some species of non-natural normativity. He explores the evolutionary histories of theoretical and practical rationality, indicating ways in which capacities underlying human reasoning have been selected for their biological advantages. He then looks at the connection between decision and probability, explaining how good decisions need to be informed by causal as well as probabilistic facts. Finally he defends theradical view that a satisfactory understanding of decision-making is only possible within a specific interpretation of quantum mechanics.By placing the subject in its scientific context, Papineau shows how human rationality plays an explicable role in the functioning of the natural world.

Why Evolution is True

Author : Jerry A. Coyne
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 019164384X
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Evolution is True by : Jerry A. Coyne

Download or read book Why Evolution is True written by Jerry A. Coyne and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-01-14 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For all the discussion in the media about creationism and 'Intelligent Design', virtually nothing has been said about the evidence in question - the evidence for evolution by natural selection. Yet, as this succinct and important book shows, that evidence is vast, varied, and magnificent, and drawn from many disparate fields of science. The very latest research is uncovering a stream of evidence revealing evolution in action - from the actual observation of a species splitting into two, to new fossil discoveries, to the deciphering of the evidence stored in our genome. Why Evolution is True weaves together the many threads of modern work in genetics, palaeontology, geology, molecular biology, anatomy, and development to demonstrate the 'indelible stamp' of the processes first proposed by Darwin. It is a crisp, lucid, and accessible statement that will leave no one with an open mind in any doubt about the truth of evolution.

The Enigma of Reason

Author : Hugo Mercier
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 067497784X
Total Pages : 405 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (749 download)

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Book Synopsis The Enigma of Reason by : Hugo Mercier

Download or read book The Enigma of Reason written by Hugo Mercier and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-17 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Brilliant...Timely and necessary.” —Financial Times “Especially timely as we struggle to make sense of how it is that individuals and communities persist in holding beliefs that have been thoroughly discredited.” —Darren Frey, Science If reason is what makes us human, why do we behave so irrationally? And if it is so useful, why didn’t it evolve in other animals? This groundbreaking account of the evolution of reason by two renowned cognitive scientists seeks to solve this double enigma. Reason, they argue, helps us justify our beliefs, convince others, and evaluate arguments. It makes it easier to cooperate and communicate and to live together in groups. Provocative, entertaining, and undeniably relevant, The Enigma of Reason will make many reasonable people rethink their beliefs. “Reasonable-seeming people are often totally irrational. Rarely has this insight seemed more relevant...Still, an essential puzzle remains: How did we come to be this way?...Cognitive scientists Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber [argue that] reason developed not to enable us to solve abstract, logical problems...[but] to resolve the problems posed by living in collaborative groups.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker “Turns reason’s weaknesses into strengths, arguing that its supposed flaws are actually design features that work remarkably well.” —Financial Times “The best thing I have read about human reasoning. It is extremely well written, interesting, and very enjoyable to read.” —Gilbert Harman, Princeton University

The Evolution of Mind

Author : Denise D. Cummins
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780195110531
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Mind by : Denise D. Cummins

Download or read book The Evolution of Mind written by Denise D. Cummins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1998 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Evolution of Mind, outstanding figures on the cutting edge of evolutionary psychology follow clues provided by current neuroscientific evidence to illuminate many puzzling questions of human cognitive evolution. With contributions from psychologists, ethologists, anthropologists, and philosophers, the book offers a broad range of approaches to explore the mysteries of the mind's evolution - from investigating the biological functions of human cognition to drawing comparisons between human and animal cognitive abilities.

Evolution Gone Wrong

Author : Alex Bezzerides
Publisher : Harlequin
ISBN 13 : 1488075859
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (88 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution Gone Wrong by : Alex Bezzerides

Download or read book Evolution Gone Wrong written by Alex Bezzerides and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An unforgettable journey through this twisted miracle of evolution we call ‘our body.’” —Spike Carlsen, author of A Walk Around the Block From blurry vision to crooked teeth, ACLs that tear at alarming rates and spines that seem to spend a lifetime falling apart, it’s a curious thing that human beings have beaten the odds as a species. After all, we’re the only survivors on our branch of the tree of life. The flaws in our makeup raise more than a few questions, and this detailed foray into the many twists and turns of our ancestral past includes no shortage of curiosity and humor to find the answers. Why is it that human mothers have such a life-endangering experience giving birth? Why are there entire medical specialties for teeth and feet? And why is it that human babies can’t even hold their heads up, but horses are trotting around minutes after they’re born? In this funny, wide-ranging and often surprising book, biologist Alex Bezzerides tells us just where we inherited our adaptable, achy, brilliant bodies in the process of evolution.

Thought Genesis

Author : David M. Sternberg
Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 0595501338
Total Pages : 112 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (955 download)

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Book Synopsis Thought Genesis by : David M. Sternberg

Download or read book Thought Genesis written by David M. Sternberg and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2008-07 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past few decades, the study of the mind has been radiated in the field of cognitive neuroscience by numerous breakthroughs. At last, scientists have the ability to explain in unparalleled detail the intricate processes taking place inside the human brain. This field of cognitive neuroscience gives us the right tools to decipher the protocols which spawn behaviors, and confirm that our conscious thought is ruled by physiological networks predisposed to their natural environment. In Thought Genesis, David M. Sternberg takes us through a fascinating multidisciplinary voyage to unearth the very origins of thought. Much like an astrophysicist observes distant celestial objects to look back in time to beginning of the world, Sternberg examines the behaviors of lesser but fascinating species and reveals the very first moments our ancestors became aware and conscious of their environment. With easy-to-understand language, Sternberg not only discusses how a simple yet fundamental consciousness evolved to the complex human mind, but also raises attractive philosophical conundrums that test the manners in which we perceive the world. Take a mesmerizing journey into the intricacy of human thought and expand your world with Thought Genesis.

The Roots of Reason

Author : David Papineau
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191516082
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (915 download)

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Book Synopsis The Roots of Reason by : David Papineau

Download or read book The Roots of Reason written by David Papineau and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2006-01-26 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Papineau presents a controversial view of human reason, portraying it as a normal part of the natural world, and drawing on the empirical sciences to illuminate its workings. In these six interconnected essays he offers a fresh approach to some long-standing problems. Papineau rejects the contemporary orthodoxy that genuine thought hinges on some species of non-natural normativity. He explores the evolutionary histories of theoretical and practical rationality, indicating ways in which capacities underlying human reasoning have been selected for their biological advantages. He then looks at the connection between decision and probability, explaining how good decisions need to be informed by causal as well as probabilistic facts. Finally he defends the radical view that a satisfactory understanding of decision-making is only possible within a specific interpretation of quantum mechanics. By placing the subject in its scientific context, Papineau shows how human rationality plays an explicable role in the functioning of the natural world.

In the Light of Evolution

Author : National Academy of Sciences
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis In the Light of Evolution by : National Academy of Sciences

Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

The Human Instinct

Author : Kenneth R. Miller
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1476790280
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (767 download)

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Book Synopsis The Human Instinct by : Kenneth R. Miller

Download or read book The Human Instinct written by Kenneth R. Miller and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of America’s best-known biologists, a revolutionary new way of thinking about evolution that shows “why, in light of our origins, humans are still special” (Edward J. Larson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evolution). Once we had a special place in the hierarchy of life on Earth—a place confirmed by the literature and traditions of every human tribe. But then the theory of evolution arrived to shake the tree of human understanding to its roots. To many of the most passionate advocates for Darwin’s theory, we are just one species among multitudes, no more significant than any other. Even our minds are not our own, they tell us, but living machines programmed for nothing but survival and reproduction. In The Human Instinct, Brown University biologist Kenneth R. Miller “confronts both lay and professional misconceptions about evolution” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), showing that while evolution explains how our bodies and brains were shaped, that heritage does not limit or predetermine human behavior. In fact, Miller argues in this “highly recommended” (Forbes) work that it is only thanks to evolution that we have the power to shape our destiny. Equal parts natural science and philosophy, The Human Instinct makes an “absorbing, lucid, and engaging…case that it was evolution that gave us our humanity” (Ursula Goodenough, professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis).

Evolution, Chance, and God

Author : Brendan Sweetman
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1628929863
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (289 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolution, Chance, and God by : Brendan Sweetman

Download or read book Evolution, Chance, and God written by Brendan Sweetman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolution, Chance, and God looks at the relationship between religion and evolution from a philosophical perspective. This relationship is fascinating, complex and often very controversial, involving myriad issues that are difficult to keep separate from each other. Evolution, Chance, and God introduces the reader to the main themes of this debate and to the theory of evolution, while arguing for a particular viewpoint, namely that evolution and religion are compatible, and that, contrary to the views of some influential thinkers, there is no chance operating in the theory of evolution, a conclusion that has great significance for teleology. One of the main aims of this book is not simply to critique one influential contemporary view that evolution and religion are incompatible, but to explore specific ways of how we might understand their compatibility, as well as the implications of evolution for religious belief. This involves an exploration of how and why God might have created by means of evolution, and what the consequences in particular are for the status of human beings in creation, and for issues such as free will, the objectivity of morality, and the problem of evil. By probing how the theory of evolution and religion could be reconciled, Sweetman says that we can address more deeply key foundational questions concerning chance, design, suffering and morality, and God's way of acting in and through creation.

Why Think?

Author : Ronald de Sousa
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198040938
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Think? by : Ronald de Sousa

Download or read book Why Think? written by Ronald de Sousa and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-06-25 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a world where natural selection has shaped adaptations of astonishing ingenuity, what is the scope and unique power of rational thinking? In this short but wide-ranging book, philosopher Ronald de Sousa looks at the twin set of issues surrounding the power of natural selection to mimic rational design, and rational thinking as itself a product of natural selection. While we commonly deem ourselves superior to other species, the logic of natural selection should not lead us to expect that nature does everything for the best. Similarly, rational action does not always promote the best possible outcomes. So what is the difference? Is the pursuit of rationality actually an effective strategy? Part of the answer lies in language, including mathematics and science. Language is the most striking device by which we have made ourselves smarter than our nearest primate cousins. Sometimes the purely instinctual responses we share with other animals put explicit reasoning to shame: the movements of a trained athlete are faster and more accurate than anything she could explicitly calculate. Language, however, with its power to abstract from concrete experience and to range over all aspects of nature, enables breathtakingly precise calculations, which have taken us to the moon and beyond. Most importantly, however, language enables us to formulate an endless multiplicity of values, in potential conflict with one another as well as with instinctual imperatives. In short, this sophisticated and entertaining book shows how our rationality and our irrationality are inextricably intertwined. Ranging over a wide array of evidence, it explores the true ramifications of being human in the natural world.

The Evolution of Spirits

Author : Bahram Esmailzadeh M. Sc.
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 1469168316
Total Pages : 469 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (691 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Spirits by : Bahram Esmailzadeh M. Sc.

Download or read book The Evolution of Spirits written by Bahram Esmailzadeh M. Sc. and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Evolution of Spirits What is the Reason for Being Here, in This Creation? By Bahram Esmailzadeh, M.Sc. What is the reason for being here? Unlock the answer in The Evolution of Spirits. In this intriguing follow-up to his first book,Understanding the Creation, Esmailzadeh introduces a general theory for the creation, evolution and destiny of all spirits. The Evolution of Spirits directly deals with variety of spiritual phenomena and yet it is not related to any of the religions or philosophies. It reveals the authors curiosity, his extensive research and persistent personal contemplations on various spiritual phenomena. This book raises the most important question: What is the reason for being here? Esmailzadeh sheds light on this very matter. In this comprehensive blueprint he demonstrates how everything began, the objectives that must be met and how spirits may eventually accomplish their ultimate and common task. He begins by explaining the creation of the physical and the spiritual worlds and the specific laws that govern them. He follows with a discussion on how spirits evolve, as they go through their evolutionary path. He tells what will eventually become of all spirits, the physical world and the spiritual world. By applying the proposed theory, Esmailzadeh also provides consistent explanations for a variety of spiritual phenomena such as overlapping past lives, power of thought, spiritual healing, states of dreaming, trance and coma, sleep paralysis, spiritual guides, wandering and escorting spirits, evil eye and witchcraft, prophesying and fortune telling, sexuality, animal languages, psychopaths, seizures, cravings, multiple personalities, possessions and exorcism, ghosts and apparitions, astrology, as well as inspiration, imagination, intelligence, instincts, curiosity, memory, conscience and of course the source of the ever-growing number of human spirits. Thought-provoking and thoroughly engaging, The Evolution of Spirits clarifies issues that have challenged mans intelligence since the beginning of time.

The Story of the Human Body

Author : Daniel Lieberman
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 030774180X
Total Pages : 482 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (77 download)

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Book Synopsis The Story of the Human Body by : Daniel Lieberman

Download or read book The Story of the Human Body written by Daniel Lieberman and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark book of popular science that gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years—with charts and line drawings throughout. “Fascinating.... A readable introduction to the whole field and great on the making of our physicality.”—Nature In this book, Daniel E. Lieberman illuminates the major transformations that contributed to key adaptations to the body: the rise of bipedalism; the shift to a non-fruit-based diet; the advent of hunting and gathering; and how cultural changes like the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions have impacted us physically. He shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning a paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease. And finally—provocatively—he advocates the use of evolutionary information to help nudge, push, and sometimes even compel us to create a more salubrious environment and pursue better lifestyles.

Reason and Less

Author : Vinod Goel
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262045478
Total Pages : 441 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Reason and Less by : Vinod Goel

Download or read book Reason and Less written by Vinod Goel and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-02-08 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new, biologically driven model of human behavior in which reason is tethered to the evolutionarily older autonomic, instinctive, and associative systems. In Reason and Less, Vinod Goel explains the workings of the tethered mind. Reason does not float on top of our biology but is tethered to evolutionarily older autonomic, instinctive, and associative systems. After describing the conceptual and neuroanatomical basis of each system, Goel shows how they interact to generate a blended response. Goel’s commonsense account drives human behavior back into the biology, where it belongs, and provides a richer set of tools for understanding how we pursue food, sex, and politics. Goel takes the reader on a journey through psychology (cognitive, behavioral, developmental, and evolutionary), neuroscience, philosophy, ethology, economics, and political science to explain the workings of the tethered mind. One key insight that holds everything together is that feelings—generated in old, widely conserved brain stem structures—are evolution’s solution to initiating and selecting all behaviors, and provide the common currency for the different systems to interact. Reason is as much about feelings as are lust and the taste of chocolate cake. All systems contribute to behavior and the overall control structure is one that maximizes pleasure and minimizes displeasure. Tethered rationality has some sobering and challenging implications for such real-world human behaviors as climate change denial, Trumpism, racism, or sexism. They cannot be changed simply by targeting beliefs but will require more drastic measures, the nature of which depends on the specific behavior in question. Having an accurate model of human behavior is the crucial first step.

The Philosophy of Human Evolution

Author : Michael Ruse
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521117933
Total Pages : 283 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (211 download)

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Book Synopsis The Philosophy of Human Evolution by : Michael Ruse

Download or read book The Philosophy of Human Evolution written by Michael Ruse and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-12 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a unique discussion of human evolution from a philosophical viewpoint, covering such issues as religion, race and gender.

The Crisis of Reason

Author : J. W. Burrow
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300214642
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis The Crisis of Reason by : J. W. Burrow

Download or read book The Crisis of Reason written by J. W. Burrow and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2002-11-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This elegantly written book explores the history of ideas in Europe from the revolutions of 1848 to the beginning of the First World War. Broader than a straight survey, deeper and richer than a textbook, this work seeks to place the reader in the position of an informed eavesdropper on the intellectual conversations of the past. J. W. Burrow first outlines the intellectual context of the mid-nineteenth century, using ideas taken from physics, social evolution, and social Darwinism, and anxieties about modernity and personal identity, to explore the impact of science and social thought on European intellectual life. The discussion encompasses powerful and fashionable concepts in evolution, art, myth, the occult, and the unconscious mind; the rise of the great cities of Berlin, Paris, and London; and the work of literary writers, philosophers, and composers. Most of the great intellectual figures of the age—and many of the lesser known—populate the book, among them Mill, Bakunin, Nietzsche, Bergson, Renan, Pater, Proust, Clough, Flaubert, Wagner, and Wilde. The author wears his erudition lightly, and this distinguished book will be both entertaining and accessible to scholars, students, and general readers alike.